1. Thrive, don’t just Survive
Predicting tomorrow‘s business problems today?
Corporate Lifecycles provides leaders with the tools, resources and support to accelerate strategic change and deliver exceptional sustainable results.

2. The Change Management Conceptual Map
Opportunities/Threats
Manage

3. Lifecycle Theory Growing Aging Prime Toddler Move to Florida Infant
The Fall
Prime
Old Age
Adolescent
‘Monster’
Golden Age
Toddler
Move to Florida
Infant
Death
Birth
Growing
Aging
Adizes: Corporate Lifecycles (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988)

4. Organization Lifecycle Stages
The Fall
Prime
Aristocracy
Adolescent
Recrimination
Go-Go
(Divorce)
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Bureaucracy
Infant
Death
Courtship
Growing
Aging
Adizes: Corporate Lifecycles (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988)

5. Attributes of High Performing Organizations:
[P] Produce Results
[A] Administer
[E] Entrepreneur
[I] Integrate
► Effective
► Efficient
► Proactive
► Organic

6. Factors affecting commitment:
Factors which increase the commitment of team members to our cause:
Factors which decrease the commitment of team members to our cause: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

7. The Attributes of High Performing Organizations:
[P] Produce Results
[A] Administer
[E] Entrepreneur
[I] Integrate
► Effective
► Efficient
► Proactive
► Organic = P A E I
PRIME

8. Knowledgeable Achievement Oriented Detail Oriented Systematic Efficient Organized Logical and Linear Thinker Visionary Creative Charismatic Change Oriented Risk Taker Sensitive People Person Team Builder P A E I

9. How to predict tomorrow’s issues today9

10. Organization Lifecycle Stages
The Fall
Prime
Aristocracy
Adolescent
(Divorce)
Recrimination
Go-Go
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Bureaucracy
Infant
Death
Courtship
Growing
Aging
Adizes: Corporate Lifecycles (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988)

11. Growing versus Aging Organizations
Everything is permitted unless
specifically forbidden
Everything is forbidden unless
specifically permitted
Get what we want
Want what we get
Expectations exceed results
Results exceed expectations
Political power is in
Sales and Marketing
Political power is in
Accounting, Finance and Legal
People are kept for their contribution
despite their personality
People are kept for their personality
despite their contribution
You control the system
The system controls you
Problems are seen as opportunities
Opportunities are seen as problems

12. The PRIME Organization
Effective
Efficient
Entrepreneurial
Organic
PRIME organizations excel in 4 areas

13. Companies in PRIME
You will consistently meet or exceed revenue and profitability targets and be the benchmark for the industry.
Investors will want to own your stock. The best people in the industry will want to work with you.
Clients will want to work with you and you will dominate the markets you choose to be in.

14. Organization Vitality
Prime: [PAEI]
Predictable & Inflexible
Flexible & Unpredictable
P & E
A & I
Growing
Aging

15. The Growing Organization
Prime: [PAEi]
Adolescent: [pAEi]
(Divorce)
Go-Go: [PaEi]
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Infant::[Paei]
Courtship::[paEi]
Growing
Aging
Adizes: Corporate Lifecycles (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988)

16. The Aging Organization
The Fall: [PAeI]
Prime: [PAEi]
Aristocracy: [pAeI]
Adolescent: [pAEi]
(Divorce)
Recrimination: [-A-i]
Go-Go: [PaEi]
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Bureaucracy: [--A-]
Infant::[Paei]
Courtship::[paEi]
Death: [Death]
Growing
Aging
Adizes: Corporate Lifecycles (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1988)

17. Causes of Organizational Aging
Loss of ‘E’
Relative perceived market share
Mental age of key people
Organization structure
Leadership style

18. The Growing Organization
Prime
The organization is results oriented
Follows systems and policies
Has plans and follows them
Adolescent
Conflict between those who want to preserve what they have and those who want change and are ready for more risk and growth
Can be very inconsistent -- goals are not clear
Incentives often inconsistent with corporate goals (e.g. sales rather than profit oriented)
Prime:[PAEi]
Adolescent
Premature bureaucracy
People are not willing to accept the new organization
Divorce or sell out
Go-Go - Expected Characteristics
Spreads itself thin, going after too many opportunities. The Go-Go is opportunity driven
Can run out of cash and credit
Much opportunity -- but no priorities -- everything is a priority
Adolescent: [pAEi]
Go-Go - Abnormal Problems
Organization remains one person show
No institutionalization of leadership
Unwillingness to develop or work within a system
(Divorce)
Infant - Expected Characteristics
Birth, and with it the emergence of risk, requires immediate shift to a “results” orientation – sell, sell, sell. The organization requires large infusions of cash for working capital -- results are necessary to cover the risk and meet commitments.
All action -- everyone is in the field
Infant - Abnormal Problems
Organization makes big error -- without the ability to recover. Not able to control cash flow -- too many demands on time and attention
Stays infant too long and so people give up -- too much continuous pressure with no short term rewards in sight
Courtship - Expected Characteristics
Organization is not yet born
There is much excitement
Focus on the future
Leadership is often overly optimistic:
May make promises that it cannot keep
In retrospect may appear irresponsible
Unrealistic thinking and expectations
Go-Go: [PaEi]
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Courtship - Abnormal Problems
Organization can die before it is born if there is only willingness to focus on “the idea”, but no consideration for what is going to be done, how it is going to be done, and who is going to do it.
In this case it is an affair, not a courtship.
Infant: [Paei]
Courtship [paEi]
Growing
Aging

19. The Aging Organization
The Fall: [PAeI]
Late Prime
The organization has lower expectations
Wants what it gets rather than gets what it wants
People do what is expedient rather than necessary
Prime
Aristocracy: [pAeI]
Aristocracy
Excessive emphasis on how things are done, rather than what is done
Much formality on dress, environment and facilities
Motto is “don’t make waves”
Individuals are concerned, but as a group there is ‘business as usual’
Adolescent:[pAEi]
(Divorce)
Recrimination: [-A-i]
Recrimination
“Witch hunt” begins -- people are fired
People become paranoid -- “Who will be the next to go?”
Much conflict and mutual attacks
Go-Go: [PaEi]
(Founder’s Trap/
Family Trap)
Bureaucracy: [--A-]
Bureaucracy
Disassociates from environment -- hard to determine what the organization wants to get done
Many systems and rituals but few, if any, results
Alienated people and managers
Infant: [Paei]
Death: [Death]
Courtship: [paEi]
Death
The organization is effectively bankrupt
Growing
Aging

20. Corporate Lifecycles MD,
Stephen Phipps
Corporate Lifecycles MD,
Annapolis, MD
Birmingham, MI
I learned almost everything I know about changing organizations from two sources. Firstly, Dr. Ichak Adizes, founder of the Adizes Institute and developer of the lifecycle theory that is at the core of our approach to organizational change. Secondly, from the many clients who openly shared their experiences, their successes and their struggles.
2016