Discussion Replies: Flywheel and Doom Loop

Post 2 replies of at least 250 words. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation(s) in APA format. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include the textbook, the Bible, peer-reviewed articles from the Jerry Falwell Library, etc. Please make sure to include a biblical worldview perspective in each reply. Student Thread #1 (Jeffrey Haig): For an organization to fall into a doom loop, there must be no realistic hope or plan for any significant improvement within the agency. Instead of hope, there is stagnation and complacency that would be difficult to overcome without a complete shift in the organizational mission, vision, and leadership. I have been fortunate enough to be able to observe this over the last 17 years within the agency that I am employed by. When I was hired, there was, for lack of a better term, a good old boys network who were responsible for management, leadership, and all decision-making that affected our collective futures. During the earlier years, there were no technological advancements, very little room for professional growth, promotion, or training, and very little reason to give additional effort, as the “leadership” of that time was openly uninterested in advancing the agency. Francis (2022) wrote that pointing out patterns that lead to potential doom loops and suggesting solutions, can provide some initial solutions to these issues. Our community recognized this, which led to the election of a new leader for this agency, with the expectations of immediate change. While that may not have been a realistic expectation for the community to have, it was embraced by the new leadership and the journey from good to great began. While embracing an attempt to remove this agency from its doom loop and transition into a flywheel, it has been a long journey. However, watching the constant forward momentum during this process has been educational, to say the least. With the removal of those who provided nothing but negativity to the organization, and the addition of those who are willing to look towards the future, there has been tremendous growth. This is a well-respected organization that continues to make improvements. Leadership demands that there is always room for improvement, and the idea of remaining with the same procedures simply because “this is the way it has always been” is akin to a toxic environment. Those who are not willing to contribute to the success of future generations in this agency are very likely to be left behind when it comes to professional advancement opportunities. This is one facet of the flywheel that will ensure organizational success, as we will keep gaining momentum until, and after it breaks through to the level that our community demands. As stated by Collins (2011), there is not one single event that will eventually lead to an organization's transition from good to great, rather a relentless series of events that are meant to help build, sustain, and motivate culture, behaviors, and actions that will positively impact the future of the organization. It would be very easy for an organization, especially for law enforcement, to fall into a doom loop. Unlike private corporations that may have access to funding to ensure the organization's stability into the future, government organizations are held to the budgets agreed upon by their governing body. Also, with a tradition of paramilitary-style operations within these agencies, there is not always open communication, or the empowerment of subordinates that could assist in developing the agency’s growth. Leaders need to recognize the potential limitations of their agency and begin working within whatever constraints they have to begin pushing forward. “Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.” (King James bible, 1769, Psalms 37:24). Additionally, Grabner et al. (2019) suggest that actions and attitudes need to be consistently reviewed to keep from falling back into a doom loop. Public safety agencies are generally geared towards gaining results quickly, so that they can stay ahead of the curve, and so they can attempt to mitigate any potential criminal or social issues that may arise. It is important for these agencies to realize that a transition from good to great will not happen overnight, regardless of intent, there needs to be consistent momentum for any significant, long-lasting change to occur. References: Collins, J. (2011). Good to Great. HarperCollins. H ttps://mbsdirect.vitalsource.com/books/9780062119209 Francis, M. M. (2022). Can Black Lives Matter within U.S. Democracy? The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science/the Annals, 699(1), 186–199. https://doi(dot)org/10.1177/00027162221078340 Gräbner, C., Heimberger, P., Kapeller, J., & Schütz, B. (2019). Structural change in times of increasing openness: assessing path dependency in European economic integration. Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 30(5), 1467–1495. https://doi(dot)org/10.1007/s00191-019-00639-6Links to an external site. King James Bible, (2017). King James Bible Online. https://www(dot)kingjamesbibleonline(dot)org/Links to an external site (Original work published 1769). Student Thread #2 (Daniel Monn): Throughout my professional career, I have had both the unfortunate and fortunate experiences of working for organizations who operated within the doom loop and flywheel concepts, respectively. The first law enforcement agency I worked for was a mid-sized municipal agency that existed very (un)comfortably within doom loop principle. Jim Collins describes the doom loop concept as wrought with a vein attempt at locating a single "breakthrough" moment that would propel the organization to the top of its respective pyramid. Essentially, these organizations chase results in one program until it fails and, when (sometimes even before) it inevitably does, they often do a complete 180-degree turn around and implement something complete contrary to the previous goal (Collins, 2001). The end-result in this scenario is an organization with no clear direction and, thus, no clear progress. Going back to my first law enforcement agency, they were great at a lot of things. Unfortunately, one of the things they were great at was an over reliance on new ideas and programs that were either never given the opportunity to truly succeed or were implemented in spite of administrators knowing that they were financially unsustainable from the outset. For example, a community policing unit was started to replace a "downtown" squad that had minimal success and had shrunk to near non-existence; however, professional research has shown that community policing ideals have the greatest likelihood of success when implemented wholistically throughout the organization (Swanson, et al., 2021). This unit failed to produce the intended results within whatever timeframe the administration deemed appropriate and was then scraped. Interestingly, a decade has passed, and the agency does not have any community-based initiatives in place. Similarly, they have implemented technology as a cornerstone of their current operations in spite of knowing that the grants used to pay for it will run out in a few years and that they cannot afford to keep the technology without those grants. Thus, a new direction will be needed again, and all progress made will be halted. The Flywheel principle, on the other hand, describes the effort of an organization in which leadership and employees work hand-in-hand to incrementally push the organization in the same direction. Over time, the momentum builds up to a point in which inertia works in conjunction with individual effort to propel the agency forward/upward (Collins, 2001). While we are far from perfect and are, frustratingly, not as far along into the Flywheel concept as some of us would like, my current agency is working towards this breakthrough. Previous narcissistic leadership is, finally, retired or soon-to-retire, and those of us in a position to take over the reins strongly subscribe to covenant leadership styles that develop the agency and garner employee buy-in to the agency's goals (Fischer & Liberty University, 2017). The main difference between these two organizations is a recognition of the limitations that budgetary constraints have placed upon the profession and an unwavering determination to reach agency goals regardless. Paul, in his 1st letter to the church in Corinth, uses the illustration of a race and admonishes that only one can win (The Holy Bible: English Standard Version, 2001, 1 Corinth. 9:24-27). By running to win "our" race, our agency is hurtling towards our goal and is on the verge of a breakthrough in which both we and the citizens we serve win. References Collins, J. (2001). Good to Great. HarperCollins Publishers. Swanson, C. R., Territo, L., Talyor, R. W., & Liederbach, J. (2021). Police Administration Structures, Process, and Behaviors (10th ed.). Pearson. The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2001). Crossway.