Turning Goals into Results: The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms

Many change programs trumpet their arrival with well-known Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). But just as many get stuck at the first hurdle to meeting those goals—mobilizing the organization away from the status quo. Catalytic mechanisms help catapult organizations over this hurdle. This simple yet powerful tool enables companies to propel commitment levels past the point of no return. They are galvanizing, nonbureaucratic means of turning visions into reality, usually involving a redistribution of power.

Short pay is a defining example of a catalytic mechanism. Granite Rock mobilized its employees to feverish levels of performance improvement with this simple but radical policy that invites customers who are not completely satisfied to reduce their invoice payment—without returning product.

Of course, short pay is not appropriate for every company, but other catalytic mechanisms wielding that much power definitely are.

The Idea in Practice

Catalytic mechanisms differ from traditional managerial devices in five ways:

1. They produce unpredictable results. Catalytic mechanisms motivate people to take initiative and exercise creativity, rather than passively follow routines. These mechanisms help employees achieve greatness by doing the unexpected. Example: 

3M’s catalytic mechanism urged its scientists to spend 15% of their time inventing in the area of their choice. The many extraordinarily profitable innovations that resulted were unpredictable—including the famous Post-It Notes. Sales and earnings increased more than 40-fold.

2. They redistribute power away from traditional power-holders and toward the overall system. Traditional carrot-and-stick methods may get the job done, but they do not disperse power and responsibility. Catalytic mechanisms, on the other hand, motivate people to act on behalf of the customer and the company as a whole, giving people the freedom to do what is right, often in direct contradiction to senseless rules.

3. They have sharp teeth. Many managers get stuck ceaselessly drafting vision statements. A catalytic mechanism, however, establishes a tangible process that all but guarantees that the vision will be fulfilled. Example: 

Nucor achieves the lofty goal of being the most efficient, high-quality steel operation in the world with a catalytic payment mechanism. The company uses predetermined formulas that motivate frontline workers to outperform other companies by a factor of two. For example, base pay is significantly lower than industry average. But teams that meet or exceed ambitious productivity goals achieve bonuses of 80% to 200% above base pay. If you’re 30 minutes late, however, you lose your weekly bonus completely.

4. They attract the right people and eject viruses. The right people, not any people, are a company’s most important asset. Traditional companies attempt to train newcomers in their core values. Great organizations find people who already share those values and will exhibit desired behaviors regardless of training or controls. Their catalytic mechanisms reinforce rather than attempt to instill their values. People who don’t share those values never get hired or soon leave.

5. They produce an ongoing effect. Speeches, off-site meetings, and crises can mobilize people, but the effects seldom last once the excitement dies down. Since catalytic mechanisms provide no escape route and require 100% commitment, their results can last for decades.