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Adaptive and contextual benchmarking is a method for organizational resilience development and performance improvement through systematic search and adaptation of leading practices.  The search for leading practices in an area of interest implies that lessons can be learned from others … together.  However, as much as this process is about looking around, it is also about looking within and learning how things are done internally.  It is only from that inner knowledge and the understanding of how others (the leading) do things, that improvement can be achieved.  It is a rapid way to learn and innovate in a continuous manner. 

Through a well-constructed and facilitated process, appropriate information and data are identified allowing appropriate and meaningful measures to be created.  Research suggests that there is a form of maturity curve in this type of process.  Organizations that persevere with it appear to move from simple comparisons of easily measured discrete activities to comparing more complex processes with external partners reflecting a desire for robust organizational learning and adaptation.
 
There is no substitute for practical, creative, collaborative learning and working through targeted “doing”.  When visions are made real and purpose is acted upon, the power of the possible takes hold through incremental changes.  Instead of concentrating on problems, the focus is on strengths and what is possible – together.  Peter Senge of M.I.T., et. al. (2008, 1010) refers to this process as “making it real: learning through prototypes.”  Data, analysis, iteration, continuous feedback and learning are critical.  Adaptive and effective management become second nature through creating and adjusting.
 
 
Transformational Change Required
 
Organizations that don’t know who they are, are not self-aware of their context, lack confidence or awareness in their purpose, have strategy disconnected from their purpose, and lack passion and a culture to act on that purpose and strategy, will be unable to react to a significant societal/market disruption or even a gradual erosion of their organizational position due to an unrecognized changing context.  Organizations finding themselves in this position will be or become irrelevant, ineffective and lack the impact and resilience they desire in the arena in which they operate. 
 
In these situations, transformational change is required.  But at what cost?
 
I’ve seen organizations that have been blind-sided by a sudden change to their operating environment caused by a change in technology, new competitor, or alternative service offerings.  I have also seen organizations that have been lulled to sleep by complacency and then were blind-sided by an external change that had been gradually taking place.
 
And how do organizations respond once they recognize what is happening?  Nine out of ten begin by scrambling, focusing on organizational survival.  They look at how to cut costs, primarily labor.  They look at making changes to what they are doing and how they are doing it.  They look at reorganizing their structure.  They try to shed liabilities … and people become liabilities in this context.  Organizational survival takes precedence over existing relationships.
 
And what do the other one in ten organizations do?  They begin by accepting the reality that decisions and actions they made, and didn’t make, contributed to the current situation.  They allow truth to be spoken to context.
 
Then they go back to who they are and their source of inspiration, their reason for being, and their purpose.  And they begin to climb the right side of the “U” in the following figure.

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