Building: High Performance Organizations
In over 20 years of real-world experience, OLC has helped organizations develop specific "Organizational Capabilities" that enable the achievement of high performance, foster innovation and engagement, and help knowledge workers use their full potential.
OLC's "Bigger Pie" Initiative
Let's stop arguing about who gets the biggest piece of the pie, let's work together to make a bigger pie. Lack of knowledge... that is the problem -W. Edwards Deming
"How do you make a bigger pie?" The purpose of "The Bigger Pie Initiative" is to share OLC's answers to this this question with individuals and groups who seek ways to build a better world for all.
Question: What are the characteristics of a High Performance Organization and how do we measure them?
Characteristics of a High Performance Organization
In today’s competitive marketplace, a High Performance Organization is one that uses the full potential of its knowledge workers. Examples of these characteristics are as follows:
Characteristics of a Knowledge-Based Organization based on OLC’s experience 
- Leadership by example
- Shared vision
- Open communication (both directions)
- All pertinent information is shared
- Learning from other “best in class” organizations
- Environment of creativity; not conformance
- Risk-taking respected and supported
- Most decisions are made by those closest to the work
- Mutual trust and understanding
- A feeling of pride in being a company employee
- Team mentality, strong commitment to team goals
- Mutual ownership of bottom-line performance
- Belief that change is normal
Characteristics of the New Workplace identified by U.S. Labor and Commerce Dept.
- Workers are empowered with the knowledge and skills for all facets of work processes and business goals and actively participate in organizational decisions.
- Work is organized into self-managing units whose job boundaries cut across traditional organizational lines. Supervisors act as mentors.
- Work requires creative thinking, self-motivation and academic basics.
- Workers are viewed as assets. Corporate culture is flexible and supportive when it comes to the needs of workers.
Assessing HPO Characteristics
Assessing High Performance Organization Characteristics-The Assessment of We refer to as “Human Effectiveness Skills” Provides valuable information on organizational characteristics that enable the achievement of High-Performance.