The Intentional Organisation - Issue #48 - Productivity in The Intentional Organisation

👉 New Issue! Productivity is a key pillar for organisational sustainability. In an Intentional Organisation it plays a distinctive role in linking effort with value creation, not just efficiency.

1. Oh, Productivity

What is productivity in an Intentional Organisation?

In today’s fast-paced business environment, productivity is often seen as a pure numbers game—doing more in less time. However, within the context of an intentional organisation, productivity takes on a different meaning. It’s about deliberate alignment, where productivity is a measure of achieving meaningful, strategic outcomes aligned with the organisation’s purpose rather than maximizing output for its own sake. This redefined perspective helps create sustainable value for the organisation, its employees, and its customers.

Redefining Productivity: Purpose Over Output

In The Intentional Organisation, productivity is reframed to serve a larger purpose. This approach means looking beyond traditional measures like hours worked or tasks completed and focusing on what truly matters to the organization’s goals. Rather than an end in itself, productivity becomes a byproduct of intentional work that aligns with the organization's Value Creation patterns. When teams are clear on what’s essential, they naturally focus their energy on high-value activities, enhancing individual and organizational productivity.

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Read again what I already wrote on Performance and Productivity

The Intentional Organisation - Issue #35 - Again on Performance and Productivity

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👉 Actionale Insight. Ensure that your productivity KPIs are not “inward” looking but are directly linked to the value creation you want to create for your customers. For example, if you have a Customer Service Call Center, focusing on call-handling time or first-call resolution metrics might lower your customers’ satisfaction level because the KPI may trigger inconsistent behaviours by employees. Ensure KPIs are balanced with customer satisfaction metrics, as this is the only way to ensure consistency and show that productivity is a tool to improve customer satisfaction.

Enabling Productivity Through Clarity and Empowerment

The foundation of intentional productivity is clarity—each team member understands their role and how their work impacts broader objectives. Clarity fosters empowerment, as employees who understand the purpose behind their tasks are more likely to take ownership and innovate.

👉 Actionale Insight. Make it a habit to communicate the “why” behind key initiatives and empower teams to make decisions that further the organization’s objectives. This not only improves productivity but also enhances engagement and motivation.

Streamlining for Intentional Productivity

The Intentional Organisation values simplicity. When workflows are needlessly complex or tools overwhelming, productivity suffers as irrelevant tasks, or redundancies bog down employees. A fundamental principle is to streamline processes and remove obstacles, allowing employees to focus on what truly adds value. Employees are empowered to remove obstacles either directly or through suggestions. A “zero waste” approach to productivity is declared and enacted in people’s behaviours.

👉 Actionale Insight. Conduct regular audits of processes and tools, eliminating those that don’t directly support value creation. This can involve leveraging technology to automate routine tasks, ensuring that time is reserved for work that requires human creativity and problem-solving, or investment in training and upskilling to ensure that automated tasks don’t cripple back into organisational routines.

The Role of Culture in Intentional Productivity

Culture is instrumental in fostering an environment where intentional productivity can thrive. In an intentional culture, employees feel psychologically safe to make mistakes, experiment, and grow, leading to better outcomes. Productivity isn’t about immediate gains but long-term value creation that’s consistent with the organization’s purpose.

👉 Actionale Insight. Promote a culture of continuous improvement rather than focusing solely on short-term results. Encourage open feedback, collaboration, and a willingness to learn from mistakes. A supportive culture will naturally drive productivity as employees are motivated to contribute meaningfully.

Measuring Intentional Productivity

Finally, measuring productivity within The Intentional Organisation goes beyond tracking output speed or efficiency. Instead, measurement frameworks are designed around value-added outcomes, customer satisfaction, and alignment with strategic goals. This might mean looking at qualitative feedback, team cohesion, or long-term impact rather than just immediate results.

👉 Actionale Insight. Develop KPIs that reflect the organization’s core intentions. For instance, instead of tracking time spent on tasks, measure the outcomes of completed projects, the quality of customer interactions, or the development of innovative solutions that contribute to the organizational purpose.

Conclusion: Intentional Productivity for Sustainable Impact

By reframing productivity within The Intentional Organisation, you can shift from simply doing more to doing what matters. This approach helps organizations build sustainable productivity that achieves short-term results and creates long-lasting value. Intentional productivity is a cornerstone of a more meaningful, engaged, and high-performing workplace.

What do you think?

— Sergio

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2. Site Updates

The Laws of Organization Design

I have continued publishing my articles on The Laws of Organization Design. Here is the latest articles published:

The Laws of Organisation Design

1. Metcalfe’s Law

2. The Law of Constraints

3. The Pareto Principle

More to come in the coming weeks!

— Sergio

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3. The (un) Intentional Organisation 😁

Source: PHD Comics X

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