In this short excellence article, Kevin Hart, an IiE associate practitioner, gives us his view of how we can benefit from going beyond the traditional audit of an organisation’s relationships to “RISE ABOVE THE REST”
“A cultural analysis of a business allows an organisation to assess where it has come from, where it is now, and where it hopes to go in future. It also aids strategic decision-making and places a business in a better position than competitors to respond to changes. PEST or STEP analyses are in effect audits of an organisation’s relationships with influential factors and stands for Political, Economic, Sociological, and Technological. Some users prefer the acronym PESTLE, with the addition of Legal and Environmental. I prefer to climb the STEEPLE and enjoy the HELO view above and beyond the horizon. To the above factors covered by PESTEL, STEEPLE adds the important factor of Ethical issues affecting our work.
A business, organisation or department with a heart, mind and soul is in a healthier and more holistic fit than most to ‘Rise Above the Rest’ and achieve success. Why else would consumers pay more for organic products or less for so called ‘ugly veg’? First, by using STEEPLE, you can better respond to the powerful forces of change and are more likely to be successful. Second, regular use of STEEPLE aids digestion, helping the business to be more lean and agile. Third, STEEPLE is useful if you want to develop your business or launch a new product or service.
What Matters Most?
Don’t be afraid to ask yourself the searching and painful questions relating to your business, organisation or department. It can hurt, but the pain will lead to gain. Try some of these on for size:
- What is happening politically in the world in which we operate?
- What is happening within the national and global economies?
- What is occurring socially around us?
- What technological developments will impact on what we do?
- What is happening with changes to legislation?
- What ecological and environmental issues must we respect?
- What more could we do to live our values and ethics?
But don’t just stop there, continue with the treatment. Decide how this information is to be gathered, identify the areas to be canvassed, gather the information, analyse the findings, identify What Matters Most, look strategically at the results, share and discuss the conclusions, and continue to monitor the patient.
Keep climbing the STEEPLE, the view is great!”
Learn more about IiE Approaches to helping your organisation.