Rasmus Ankersen
Strategies to Stay at the Top
Lesson 2: Create a Sense of Urgency
Materials Needed
Journel
Pencil
Discover
To help your organization continue to stay on top during a season of strength, leaders must battle complacency and create a sense of urgency. Watch the short video and then move to the questions below.
Combatting Complacency
Rasmus Ankersen explores how organizational leaders can combat complacency and move forward to drive change, even from a position of strength.
Do
Apply your insights to the area of the organization for which you are responsible. Write your thoughts in your journal.
- Rate your team’s urgency on a scale of 1 to 5 (1=low urgency, 5=high urgency).
- What are some potential ways you could expand the category in which your team competes? Brainstorm 5 broader categories that could apply to your area of the organization.
- Identify some stretch goals you could set for your team to increase their sense of urgency. Brainstorm 5 key goals where you could aim bigger than you currently do.
- Between the categories and goals you identified in #1 and #2, circle one or two that you think would have the greatest impact to help your team move to the next level. (Note: Too many stretch goals can overwhelm your team. Narrow your stretch goals to one or two areas where you can focus for the next season.)
Deepen
Successful organizations can settle into a complacent mindset. Go through the questions below, writing your thoughts in your journal.
1. One way to create a sense of urgency, according to Rasmus, is to make your category bigger. He gave the example of Lego who defined their category as the children’s playroom rather than toys. How do you think this new category helped employees at Lego combat complacency?
2. Another way to create a sense of urgency is to set challenging benchmark goals. Reflect on the way your organization typically sets goals.
- Does your organizations typically set safe goals? Or stretch goals? Why?
- How would the presence of stretch goals change the urgency in your organization?
- What barrier(s) exist in your organizations that make setting stretch goals difficult?
- How could your organization overcome those barrier(s)?