“My team is so inwardly focused because they have all been remote for the past 4 years they don’t
know how to function away from their computers,” said the exasperated leader when asked about his biggest challenge in 2024 and beyond. “If we don’t start to help them understand what it means to have an external orientation, we will be doomed.”
During a recent set of interviews with business leaders as part of the process of building a new leadership simulation, we heard multiple leaders share their frustration about the inward focus of their key managers and how it was eroding the capabilities and the value proposition of the organization.
As part of our work, we created a new module on 10 things an organization can do to create an external orientation culture.
Why an External Orientation Culture?
The business reason for having an external orientation culture is very simple; an external orientation drives collaboration, flexibility, and compassion, all competencies that will be critical in determining the best-in-class organizations that will win in their chosen markets.
The catalyst to successfully building an external orientation culture is collaboration. Collaboration will be a critical capability for organizations’ solution development, cost competitiveness, customer reach, and marketing needs when it comes to thinking about and embracing the outside world and markets.
10 Steps You Can Take to Create an External Orientation Culture
The following is a list and some ideas for creating an External Orientation Culture.
1) Help your team take a Customer-Centric Approach – Put your customers first no matter what. You have a value proposition so make sure everyone on your team knows what it is and that their #1 priority is delivering it. Tips:
- Prioritize understanding your customers' needs, preferences, and pain points.
- Encourage all team members to regularly interact with customers and gather feedback.
2) Conduct Market Research – It doesn’t matter if it's small, large, formal, or informal, get your team to listen to the voice of the customer. Tips:
- Invest in comprehensive market research to stay informed about industry trends, competitors, and emerging opportunities.
- Regularly update your understanding of the external environment
- Encourage employees to build external networks, attend industry events, and participate in community activities.
- Foster partnerships with other organizations to leverage synergies.
- Create channels for open communication with external stakeholders, including customers, suppliers, and industry experts.
- Actively listen to feedback and incorporate it into decision-making processes.
- Cultivate a culture of continuous learning and adaptation.
- Stay agile and be willing to adjust strategies based on external changes.
- Develop a global mindset.
- Understand and appreciate cultural differences in the global market.
- Seek new, innovative partners and opportunities no matter how outside the box they may be.
- Encourage collaboration between different departments to ensure a holistic understanding of external factors.
- Break down silos that may hinder the flow of information.
- Foster a culture of innovation to respond quickly to changes in the external environment.
- Encourage employees to think creatively and take calculated risks.
- Leadership should set an example by actively engaging with external stakeholders.
- Emphasize the importance of external orientation in business reviews, strategic plans, customer reviews, and long-term business plans.
- Develop key performance indicators (KPIs) that reflect external orientation.
- Recognize and reward teams and individuals who contribute significantly to understanding and adapting to the external environment.
In summary, too many companies are traveling down a dangerous road of too much internal focus and isolation. That world is changing before our eyes and the most successful companies of the next decade will be the ones who have developed and are executing an External Orientation.
