RI organization
Mission drift
did you know?
Building credibility
Active impact
IO What'sNewS Issue7-July 1999
continued from page 9
described by our mandate, but crucially:
how can we get from the old to the new
without making stupid mistakes. It is a
tough proposition, but if everyone buys
into it, I believe is not only a necessary,
but also unavoidable and inevitable
change in how we operate.'
When the SRT was first set up, there was
some (misplaced) criticism of the relative
'youth' of its members and their
comparatively brief tenure at RI. The
same cannot be said of TIP. Like Cramer,
almost the whole TIP team has a long-
standing experience of the organization
behind them, they believe the time is ripe
to confront an 'historie inevitability' Tn
the past,' says Cramer, 'this bank was
always buoyed up by our tripIe-A rating.
Because of that, we could often pretend
real life did not exist. It allowed us to shy
away from difficult choices and decisions.
Fortunately, we've woken up. We've
understood that mission drift is one of the
greatest threats to any organization. In my
view, we've lacked a certain discipline in
pursuing our "mission". We have drifted
The SRT has had extensive talks
with close to 1,000 people - staff,
customers and prospccts, in the
process of developing its proposals.
Willem Cramer - faclng up to 'historie
inevitability'with the TIP team
away from, for example, the Rabobank
organization's Dutch customers and I
think most people would agree we never
truly implemented the customer focus
strategy. That mistake won't be made
again.'
Any discussion on mission drift and the
lack of a single-minded implementation of
the customer focus strategy could easily
fill more than one issue of What's NewS.
But looking back is anathema in RI these
days, not because we have nothing to
learn from past mistakes and successes.
More because there is so much to be done
to get the organization onto the right
track that we need all our energies to look
ahead. But we still asked how the TIP
mission, then you won't create an
environment in which people can achieve.
We have accepted accountability for
implementation of the adjusted strategy,
our deadlines are short-term and tight,
and we will be actively informing people
of what we're doing throughout the
project duration.'
TIP's mandate requires ongoing consulta-
tion and information exchange at every
stage with the SRT, the managing board,
line managers and the Works' Council,
but the intention is to report progress as
often as possible to the whole organiza
tion. Communication has been prioritized
by the team and Bram Kruimel is responsi-
ble for disseminating information. 'Com
munication will be crucial to the success
of this project,' he confirms. 'We're con-
vinced it's easier for people to change if
Team in TIP condition and ready to implement - (from left to right) Peter Norrie, Theo Koeken, Flip
Goudsmit, Bram Kruimel, Berend du Pon, and Pieter Zeestraten - Willem Cramer is missing from
the group pieture for good reason. He was representing the TIP team at the SRT offsite
team can contribute to building the
credibility which will be essential if the
organization is to 'buy in' to the adjusted
strategy. This at a time when consistent
hard work in the past did not appear to
achieve the kind of results our efforts
should deserve. Says Cramer, 'Let me say
again I think that mission drift has been a
major factor. If you don't stick to your
they understand why they're doing it.'
Kruimel was able to report at this time the
completion - on deadline - of TIP's first
deliverable - an inventory of all projects
that could impact RI's future strategy in
Europe. TIP is now working with the
managers concerned to combat overlaps
and ensure parallel processing and consis
tent implementation.
