You Might Be Good, but Are You Great?

Stage 3: Disciplined action

• Culture of discipline. G2G organisations work in a systematic way. Disciplined people who engage in disciplined thought and take disciplined action are the cornerstone of a greatness culture. People operate with freedom in a framework of responsibilities. In a culture of discipline, people do not have "jobs" — they have responsibilities. How do you create that disciplined accountability approach in your organisation? How do you combine discipline with the flexibility that staff and volunteers expect in contemporary organisations?

• Innovation accelerators. G2G organisations adopt innovative approaches that help build long-term success. This isn't about buying a new database or creating a sexy website or iPhone app. It is about adopting new ways to deliver services, building new partnerships and facing the changes in society that demand you work differently. Are you investing in the future — in techniques and technologies that might transform the way you work? Or are you simply trying to work harder at businesses as usual?

Collins summarizes his approach with two final ideas you might like to consider. One involves what he calls Clock Building, Not Time Telling. To become really great, you need to build culture and business models — not obsess about bean counting. Often charities work far too hard at matching funder or short-term 
priorities — time telling — rather than building genuine capacity — clock building. The other idea, 
crucial to charities, involves creating change within values. G2G organisations are clear on their fundamental beliefs and change everything but these. With clear values you can act flexibly to deliver the great results that your beneficiaries demand 
of you. FS

Bernard Ross is director of The Management Centre and author of the Bernard Ross Blog. Reach him at b.ross@managementcentre.co.uk or follow him on Twitter at @bernardrossmc.