Alignment is a critical concept for the 21st Century enterprise. Alignment serves to optimize the value-generating capability of any organization.

There are two vital missions, alignment can help --accomplish. First, it is the strategic imperative for an enterprise to integrate all internal knowledge and resources, in order to deliver a superior product, or service to the customer (or consumer). So, the creative firepower, all the industry-specific, and general business competencies -- its vision, the values, ethics and integrity - all these imperatives must be fully orchestrated and aligned - to produce a differentiated and superior value - provider delivers to a customer. Every time internal alignment is off-base, the enterprise loses effectiveness and efficiency. Misalignment produces commodity outputs, or worse, inferior products or services.

Secondly, alignment as a concept, serves to unify the interests of an enterprise's - critical stakeholders. The interests, aspirations, and expectations of employees, customers, shareholders, financial analysts, communities, sometimes even governments, (and possibly other stakeholders) must be aligned. To optimize value, to assure success over time, an organization must actively manage the alignment of all its critical constituencies. Without that, success, and even survival, is at risk.

Alignment, both in product development and key stakeholder orchestration, must be a management imperative. It cannot be left to chance. It is not necessarily a byproduct of every employee - just doing a good job. It is one of the most vital skills - the 21st Century enterprise has to develop and perfect.

The Final Imperative: Embrace Values - As a Business Strategy

• To be a good business leader, you must be, and act, as a good person.
• Business life and personal life, will become one.
• To support creativity/to invent/to innovate -
• To maintain a nurturing yet demanding environment - you need to be, and act, as a good person.
• To live consistently by the new - increasingly level playing field rules of free enterprise - you must also be a good person.
• We can, and must, adopt the basic human values, values that will guide one's personal and, business behaviors.
• Just four values:
• Honesty
• Trust
• Respect for others and ourselves
• Integrity
• We can change ourselves for the better - by practicing and applying these values - if we can muster the rigor and commitment - of top athletes.
• We will have to apply these values-driven judgments to dozens of small and big decisions -every day.
• Then, on the Day of the Big Game, when the pressure is on, when you have a lot to win, and a lot to lose - maybe then, you'll do the right thing! And that very act, will help contribute demonstrably - to your company's reputation, to the strength of that brand -- and to your business success.