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Corporate Steering Rarely Fails on Goals
Corporate steering rarely fails on goals. It fails because the measures are not clear enough.
An article on the restructuring at Deutsche Bahn stayed with me for that reason, seen from a professional angle. Not because of the changes to the org chart, but because of the steering logic behind them.
What is interesting is less what gets steered than how. The focus appears to be shifting away from large programmes and extensive metric systems. Concrete measures and clear accountability move to the foreground instead. Put differently: the discussion shifts from debating targets to debating execution.
That is useful well beyond rail logistics. Goals matter, but without clearly defined measures they stay abstract. Planning becomes effective where decisions, measures and accountability come together.
Steering does not happen in the target picture. It happens in the next sensible step.