Treadmill
Although it is theoretically possible for an organization to remain permanantly in Predictable Success®, in reality, this is hard - if not impossible - to achieve.
Typically, an organization will begin, over time, to feel the 'gravitational pull' of the lifecycle, either back down to Whitewater, or, if it has managed to stay in Predictable Success® for some time, forward into a stage called Treadmill.
In Treadmill, the organization's focus on Administration (processes, systems, policies) so vital in getting from Whitewater to Predictable Success®, becomes over-emphasized, leading to too much uniformity, a reduction in risk-taking and creativity, and a concentration of form over function - a 'checklist mentality'.
Working for an organization in Treadmill can feel like it's just that - endlessly pounding on a Treamill: lots of effort, but a sense that you're going nowhere...
In it's extreme version, this is the point at which an Entrepreneurially minded founder may well think about leaving the organization to start afresh - an opportunity to start again, with the freedom and autonomy (and lack of process and policies) that they were first attracted to.
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Predictable Success
About The Synergist
