Most of us have heard the old saying – “The Whole Is Greater Than The Sum Of Its Parts.” Throughout my career, a hobby of mine has been exploring the essential parts of organizations, e.g., vision and mission statements, policies, procedures, etc., how these parts are interconnected, and the resulting whole of the parts. To that end, over the years, I’ve often thought of organizations as orchestras. Like an organization, an orchestra has many different sections working harmoniously on the same goal. The conductor, or
music director, uses their baton or hands to keep time and indicate changes in dynamics, tempo, and phrasing. Although it is physically possible for an orchestra to play music without a director, after all, each musician is uniquely qualified and an expert with their instrument. However, without the director, there is a risk that one or more of the musicians would play out of tempo. If this were to happen, the music wouldn’t sound as good as it otherwise could. The director ensures the entire orchestra works in unison to make beautiful music. Like the musical director, organizational leadership directs various sections within the organization, human resources, operations, etc., to ensure they, like an orchestra, are playing their instruments in tempo with each other.
Throughout my career I had several opportunities to assess and create organizations from scratch. I thought exploring the tools and processes I used to create or assess organizations might be fun. This series focuses on organizational design and function and may interest two groups of readers. First is the young professional interested in growing as a leader and manager. Second, the executive who might be looking for a quick mental refresh on a subject. Reflecting on my career, I tried to think of things I wish I had known and appreciated more deeply as a young leader and manager. I think it would have benefited me to understand better the interconnected nature and impact of essential foundational organizational elements. In a manner of speaking, this series could be thought of as a letter to my younger self. I would also like to acknowledge a couple of key points. First, although there are commonalities across all industries, there are also differences. Second, in my opinion, the size, e.g., the number of people in the organization, and working conditions, e.g., in-person, remote, etc., make some of the points raised in this series more or less applicable, e.g., an organization with 20 employees may not find a vision statement as impactful as a 2000-employee organization. All of that is to say that some topics discussed in this series may not be as relevant in some industries or organizations. Although the points discussed in this series have helped me throughout my career, they may not be as relevant in all situations. Hopefully, some of the points raised will help you too.
The first tool I would use is the acronym DOTMLPF-P (pronounced “Dot-MiL-P-F-P”), which stands for doctrine, organization, training, materiel, leadership, education, personnel, facilities, and policy. Admittedly, this acronym doesn’t cover every element of an organization, but it does give a person a solid starting point for thoughtful conversations.
The word Doctrine is more frequently used when discussing religious or governmental organizations. It originates from the Latin word doctor, which means “teacher.” For this series, we will consider doctrine as an organization’s collective documents that steer and shape its culture and performance.
Organization, in the context of this acronym, is the holistic organization or subordinate element within the organization with a focus on the structure itself.
Training has two aspects: individual and organizational. An assessment of individual training focuses on each person and whether they are trained to perform the tasks they have been assigned within their respective roles and responsibilities. Organizational training refers to the ability of the entire organization or subordinate elements to work together to achieve their collective goals or objectives.
Materiel is everything in the organization except personnel and real estate. A materiel assessment focuses on whether the organization is appropriately equipped to achieve its goals or objectives.
Leadership is an assessment of each leader’s training and education and how well they are prepared to lead the organization to achieve its goals or objectives. This type of assessment can be particularly useful if the organization anticipates a significant change in the operational environment.
Personnel is an assessment of the people’s availability, training, and education within an organization. Too often, requirements change without an assessment of whether the organization has the correct number of people in the proper positions to handle the shift in requirements.
Facilities is an assessment of the real estate an organization uses to meet its goals and objectives. Like personnel, requirements often change without a formal assessment of the real estate requirements.
Policy, in the context of this acronym, is an assessment of the documentation used within an organization to guide systems and processes.
The second tool I would use can be found here. It’s a pictorial representation of the key elements of an organization and how they are connected. It includes the vision and mission statement, the strategy, the structure, roles and responsibilities, systems and processes, resourcing, operations, goals and objectives, metrics and key performance indicators, and feedback loops. The golden arrows throughout the picture represent the golden threads that link all business elements; see article 3 in this series. The three boxes in the center, Organizational Structure, Roles and Responsibilities, and Systems and Processes, highlighted in purple, are intended to indicate the inexplicit linkage of these three elements. In other words, you cannot change any of them without impacting others. Highlighted in red is resourcing because it is a single point of failure and must be thought of through that context. Highlighted in blue are the metrics, key performance indicators, and feedback loops that inform organizational decision-making.
Over the years, I have liked comparing leadership skills to toolbox tools. As the old saying goes, if your only tool is a hammer, then every problem is a nail. The more tools you have in your leadership toolbox, and the more skilled you are at using them, the more surgical you can be in solving problems. The tools described in this series are some of the organizational design tools I used. These tools aren’t the only ones out there, but they worked for me.
Using these two tools as checklists, I would create working groups comprised of subject matter experts, human resourcing, finance, operations, information technology, etc. I would then begin systematically working my way through each element and component to ensure that the organization can operate effectively and efficiently. Whenever we discovered a gap in capability or resourcing, we would assess the impact and mitigation strategies. Taking a thoughtful and systematic approach to assessing or building an organization / team helps to make the otherwise overwhelming process more manageable. In my experience, when organizations or teams find themselves challenged, multiple elements within the DOTMLPF-P tool need to be addressed. Routinely assessing an organization / team, annually or biannually, etc., is a form of preventative maintenance, ensuring an organization / team is functioning efficiently and effectively.
“Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty… I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life. I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well.” – Theodore Roosevelt
Please feel free to share your own experiences in the comment box below.
Your shared thoughts may help someone else with a similar experience. Thank you.
Readiness Review Checklist
- Do you have a systematic way, such as DOTMILPF-P or any other assessment tool, for assessing each element of your organization against your goals and objectives? A formal system and process for accessing designated goals and objectives creates a quantitative method for discussing resourcing levels.
- When was the last time you assessed the organization / team? Is your organization / team executing its mission, roles, and responsibilities efficiently and effectively?
- Do you have a process for addressing the findings identified during an assessment? Assessments are only valuable when they help organizations and teams become more effective and efficient.
Good Luck and Stay Ready, My Friends.