Organizational Assessment

Endeavor FY2020
2/25/20
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David Kenneth Kries II

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Table of Contents
Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………….Page 2

What is Organizational Assessment?.....................................................................Page 3

Good to Great Assessment Model………………………………………………………………..Page 4

Background……………………………………………………………………………………….Page 4

Assessment Model…………………………………………………………………………….Page 5

Stage 1…………………………………………………………………………………...Page 5-6

Stage 2…………………………………………………………………………………...Page 6

Stage 3…………………………………………………………………………………...Page 6

Stage 4…………………………………………………………………………………...Page 6-7

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………………………...Page 7
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Introduction
Here at Where Have You Bean? Coffee Company we are always looking for, and finding,
ways to elevate our organization to that next level of operational excellence. Recently we
have incorporated customer feedback surveys to all reward card members as well as an
internal comment and suggestion platform for our employees across the nation.
Combined, these two mediums have brought forth a variety of insights and observations
that will allow us to better address the needs of our customers, employees, and the
organization as a whole.

In order to maintain this growth mindset our leadership team has decided to capitalize on
an exciting opportunity presented to us by one of our former employees, David Kries. After
graduating from Arizona State University with a degree in Organizational Leadership, David
felt it time to part ways with Where Have You Bean? and commit himself to starting his own
Organizational Assessment company. David’s direct approach and attention to minute
details has helped several organizations like Black Pen Inc., Automobile Corp., and the Mars
Tourism Board elevate their organizations to new heights by analyzing these organizations
as a whole and providing insights into opportunities for improvements, stakeholder needs,
and leadership patterns and behaviours.

Utilizing Collins’ Good-to-Great assessment model, David will be leading a small team
through an assessment of our organization. Due to the exciting and unique nature of this
endeavor we have decided to present our employees with the same outline and
breakdown of the assessment model that David’s team will be utilizing. This serves two
purposes:

1. Transparency. We are all a part of the same organization and whether you sit in the
corporate office or clock in at the register at one of our many retail locations, you
have a right to know what is going on behind the scenes of our company as the
decisions that are made at the conclusion of this assessment may have a direct
impact on how the company operates going forward. As David’s team's findings
come to light, we will relay them to you.
2. Confidence. The existence of our company depends on the confidence our
employees and customers have in us to constantly deliver on our values and
mission. By exposing you to this assessment tool you can get a first-hand view of
what exactly it is we will be looking at and why.
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We all already know that our company is Good, now is the time to find out how we can be
Great.

What is an Organizational Assessment and Why is it Necessary?

An organizational assessment is an analysis approach that organizations can use to get a
better idea of where they are and what they need to achieve to get to where they want to
be. Simply, we are assessing the performance of the organization in regard to its
effectiveness, efficiency, relevance, economics, and financial viability. In order to better
understand an organization's performance one must look at three different aspects of the
organization and the sub-parts contained within:

★ Organizational Motivation
○ History
○ Mission
○ Culture
○ Incentives/Rewards
★ Environment
○ Administrative
○ Political
○ Social/Cultural
○ Economic
○ Stakeholder
★ Organizational Capacity
○ Strategic Leadership
○ Structure
○ HR
○ Financial Management
○ Infrastructure
○ Program management
○ Process management
○ Inter-organizational linkages

(Information sourced from Lusthaus, 2002, p. 10)

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Good-to-Great Assessment Model

GOOD TO GREAT DIAGNOSTIC TOOL. DEVELOPED BY JIM COLLINS. RELEASE VERSION 1.00.
© 2006 BY JIM COLLINS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Background
The Good-to-Great assessment model is an organizational diagnostic tool created by Jim
Collins to aid an organization in transition from a good company to a great company. Collins
advocates that an organization that goes from good to great is one that “makes a
distinctive impact and delivers superior performance over a long period of time.” These
principles came to light by using a matched-pair research method (below) that
“systematically analyzed companies that attained greatness...in contrast to...comparison
companies...that failed to attain greatness during the exact same historical eras.”
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Assessment Model
The Good to Great assessment model relies on key inputs, or implementations, and an
analysis of key outputs, or indicators, in order to examine leadership behaviours and
commitment to organizational values. The input principles mentioned will be expanded
upon below so that you can better understand the intent and goals behind them.

Stage 1
★ Disciplined People
○ Level 5 Leadership
■ Level 5 leaders are inherently selfless, putting the organization’s
needs before their own and are incredibly proactive and ambitious in
pursuing greatness for the institution rather than themselves. Their
greatness is a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional
will.
○ First Who, Then What
■ Great organizations know how to leverage their employees
appropriately. But having the right people is only half of the equation.
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Knowing where to put them is the other half. You can have a team of
all-stars but they are essentially useless unless they are put into
positions that their strengths can be maximized. Having the best
Quarterback in the league playing Strong Safety means you cannot
take advantage of their superior throwing ability.

Stage 2
★ Disciplined Thought
○ Confront the Brutal Facts
■ The Stockdale Paradox - Great organizations must retain faith that they
will prevail in the end, regardless of the difficulties but AT THE SAME
TIME confront the most brutal facts of their current reality, whatever
they might be.
○ The Hedgehog Concept
■ The fox knows many things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. The
Hedgehog Concept is not a goal, strategy, or intention, it is an
understanding of what are the best in the world at, where your
passions truly lie, and the resources you can leverage to sustain
superior economic return.

Stage 3
★ Disciplined Action
○ Culture of Discipline
■ Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought take disciplined
action. Freedom must be balanced with responsibility within a
framework. The culture of an organization must outlast the revolving-
door of CEOs and permeate throughout the organization from top to
bottom.
○ The Flywheel
■ Going from Good to Great is a snowball effect. It is a constant,
continuous momentum of small, incremental events not dramatic or
revolutionary ones. Little by little these actions turn the flywheel to
the point of sustained and, oftentimes, spectacular results.
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Stage 4
★ Building Greatness to Last
○ Clock Building, not Time Telling
■ Building a clock is dynamic, telling the time is static. Level 5 leaders
will focus their aims on every number on a clock, not just the current
time. Organizations should be built to “tick along” without the current
leadership, not falter once the shot caller leaves their post.
Momentum should drive the organization, not a charismatic force of
one individual.
○ Preserve the Core/Stimulate Progress
■ Core values are the bedrock of everything we do. What is stood for
should be unwavering, how its done should always be explored and
never stop changing. Level 5 leaders should always be flywheeling
their organizations, relentlessly toward tangible results by confronting
brutal facts and fostering a culture of discipline that still allows people
the freedom for experimentation in order to stimulate progress. The
smoother the flywheel, the more cumulative the momentum, the
bigger the breakthrough will be.

Conclusion
As you can see, this assessment into our organization has a lot of moving parts that require
some pretty in depth analysis. Not only are we looking at quantifiable data, but also
behaviours, practices, and philosophies. As soon as the assessment team is officially
onboarded we will be sending out the actual assessment sheets they are using to assess. In
addition to the company wide assessment we are also suggesting that all store managers
take the opportunity to assess their individual stores. This is not mandatory nor does it
need to be submitted, but serves as a fun exercise to not only see the assessment process
play out, but to give you and your teams a better idea of where you all stand.