(A Lack Of?) Alignment

Of all my posts thus far, this one took me the longest to think of what to say. That's not saying much since the others, for the most part, have just come to me. It took me a while because I had a hard time thinking of a stellar example of a time when some unit of which I was a member lacked alignment so much so that it frustrated reaching our goals. I could have easily thought of times when being aligned helped us accomplish what we set out to do, but those aren't as interesting to write about. "We were all on the same page, and we did it. It was fun. Difficult, but fun." That's how I imagine that blog reading. No, I wanted to remember a time when everything came apart because the alignment was so poor. I have something close, but not perfectly disastrous.

In The Essential Drucker, Peter Drucker (who else would it be?) discusses the purpose and objectives of a business being essential to its success. He writes that "Objectives are the foundation for designing both the structure of the business and the work of individual units and individual managers." (p 30) He identifies eight key areas (marketing, innovation, and human resources, for example) in which objectives "are always needed." (p 30) Alignment among objectives is paramount to a successful business. If individuals have different objectives than that of the business, then progress is stalled or halted. Alignment is important because it is a necessary requirement for movement. Ultimately, the manager is in control of this. He or she needs to make sure that the work assigned to each individual is appropriate given his or her abilities and that each individual is doing his or her work.

On a high school baseball team, or any team for that matter, the coach acts as manager. In the major leagues, the coach even goes by the title "manager." In addition to the manager, there can be captains or other individuals who adopt formal managerial responsibilities. These assistant managers and captains are vital to the success of the team, but I'll say it again: ultimately, the manager is in control. The 2006 Lincoln Park Lions Varsity Baseball team really didn't have any assistant managers or captains in place to make the team more successful. We had a very likable coach; I can't imagine his being more understanding or kind, but we didn't win, and that's what a sports team is all about. There were some members of the team whose objective was to win. Some players dreamed of playing college or professional baseball, but others of us knew that this was the end of the road. High school baseball would be it for us. I fell into this latter group along with some of my friends.

We all wanted to win (Who doesn't like winning?), but we were not all aligned. Some of the team wanted to practice more often than three or four times a week. Others were content with that level of dedication. This was the source of some disagreement as the season drew near to its end. The playoffs were approaching, and it was time to "go big or go home" as I hear all the time. (Aside: I really don't like that phrase, but I'll use it anyway.) A couple teammates organized a meeting outside to talk about our needing to practice more. Some of us weren't willing to take that step. AP and IB exams were just around the corner, and preparing for those mattered more to us. Furthermore, we had a coach who completely supported our academic lives. School always came before baseball. That said, the meeting did not unite us toward a common goal. We dispersed in our respective directions, and our team lost in the second round of the playoffs.

Alignment isn't easy, especially when you consider motivation. I'm in charge of organizing prayer activities at Axiom, a ministry here on campus, and I have never had such a difficult assignment. I think part of the reason it's difficult getting people united in prayer is an alignment issue and part of it is a motivation issue. As far as alignment, people have many different ways of praying. Some prefer praying alone, others in groups. Some pray at specific times, others whenever it comes to mind, and some do both. All of these are perfectly acceptable methods of praying. I just find it hard to find common ground, some way to get everyone excited about prayer. That's the other part: motivating prayer. Something as cool as talking with God should provide its own motivation. About two and a half years ago, I went on a retreat where the speaker chose to preach about prayer. He used a corny but memorable connection between Krispy Kreme Donuts and prayer to motivate his point. "When I see the 'Hot Now!' sign lit up at Krispy Kreme, I get excited," he said. "We should feel the same way about prayer. Being able to approach God in prayer should make us say 'Hot Now!'" As I said, the analogy is super corny, but I think it makes some sense. Alignment and motivation are closely related. There needs to be some source of motivation to align. My team wasn't motivated to go far in the playoffs, so we had unaligned objectives, and we lost. Communal prayer at Axiom is difficult to coordinate, but I'll keep praying for it!

That reminds me of something! When I think about it, my life is a business, and God is the manager. When I let Him be in charge of my life and align my objectives with his, it's way better. Woot! That thought just made my day a lot better.

To sum it all up, alignment is one of the keys to the success of a business, which can be just about anything. The manager and all other individuals involved need to know the business' objectives and his or her role in fulfilling them. Drucker writes that "Defining the purpose and mission of the business…alone enables a business to set objectives, to develop strategies, to concentrate its resources, and to go to work." (p 28) Alignment is both difficult and necessary for success.