Unifying Business, Data, and Code

Chapter 6. The Art of Alignment

Imagine that you’re the CEO of a company, and you discover that 71% of your managers are not fully aligned with your vision. Do you think there’s any chance that you’re going to hit your targets this year? Or next? Of course not…In fact, it doesn’t matter how good or innovative your company’s vision is; if leaders at every level of the company aren’t fully aligned with that vision, it has almost no chance of success.

“A Shocking Number of Leaders Are Not Aligned with Their Companies’ Visions” (Mark Murphy, Forbes, August 2020)

Picture yourself at a concert. The lights dim, the curtains draw back, and you’re enveloped by the stirring performance of a seasoned orchestra. The synchronization of their instruments, the harmony of their playing; all that transpires is the creation of soul-touching music. However, what if the violin players suddenly began missing their notes or the percussionists started going off rhythm? The performance would quickly descend into a chaotic, dissonant mess.

The delicate balance required in a symphony is mirrored in the dynamics of an organization. The employees are the musicians, their diverse roles analogous to different musical instruments, and the information generated by an organization is akin to the melody they produce together. The CEO, like a conductor, must ensure the harmonious alignment of all these moving parts.

What chance would the orchestra stand of performing a symphony, let alone achieving greatness, ...