How to evaluate your organization’s sensory system 

Published March 20, 2025

Welcome to the assessment!

To thrive in today’s increasingly turbulent environments, organizations need intelligent sensory systems – integrated sets of tools, processes, and cultural practices that allow for real-time detection and interpretation of environmental changes.

Instructions

Use this assessment to diagnose strengths and identify areas for improvement across the four critical pillars of organizational sensing:

1. Strategic sensors
2. Data integration
3. Analytical intelligence
4. Sensing culture

Rate your current capabilities on a scale of 1 (basic) to 5 (advanced) by moving the pointer along the slider bar.  Please give a rating for each question in order to get a valid overall rating.

Scoring

To determine your organization’s sensory system maturity, the total score across all four pillars will be calculated (maximum score: 80).

 

 

 

1. Strategic sensors: To what extent do you.......

... effectively monitor external factors such as market dynamics, customer behavior, emerging technologies, and regulatory changes?

... detect and respond rapidly to shifts in the regulatory or competitive landscape?

... provide clear insights into operational efficiency, cultural health, and resource utilization?

... regularly review and adapt sensing mechanisms to align with evolving strategic priorities?

2. Data Integration: To what extent do you...

... ensure seamless integration and smooth information exchange across the organization?

... maintain consistent and standardized definitions for key business metrics across teams?

... balance data accessibility for decision-makers with strong security and governance protocols?

... support real-time monitoring and decision-making through your data infrastructure?

3. Analytical intelligence: To what extent do you... 

... develop analytics capabilities that progress from descriptive to predictive and prescriptive insights?

...quickly translate insights from analytics into actionable strategies?

...ensure your analytical models remain validated, updated, and aligned with strategic goals?

... leverage AI, machine learning, or advanced modeling to anticipate trends and optimize decisions?

4. Sensing culture: To what extent do you... 

... ensure that employees across all levels are empowered to contribute insights and observations?

... effectively balance data-driven decision-making with human intuition and experience?

... foster a culture that values experimentation, rapid iteration, and learning from failures?

... ensure that senior leaders actively support and model behaviors that reinforce a strong sensing culture? 

Authors

Michael Watkins - IMD Professor

Michael Watkins

Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD

Michael D Watkins is Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at IMD, and author of The First 90 Days, Master Your Next Move, Predictable Surprises, and 12 other books on leadership and negotiation. His book, The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, explores how executives can learn to think strategically and lead their organizations into the future. A Thinkers 50-ranked management influencer and recognized expert in his field, his work features in HBR Guides and HBR’s 10 Must Reads on leadership, teams, strategic initiatives, and new managers. Over the past 20 years, he has used his First 90 Days® methodology to help leaders make successful transitions, both in his teaching at IMD, INSEAD, and Harvard Business School, where he gained his PhD in decision sciences, as well as through his private consultancy practice Genesis Advisers. At IMD, he directs the First 90 Days open program for leaders taking on challenging new roles and co-directs the Transition to Business Leadership (TBL) executive program for future enterprise leaders, as well as the Program for Executive Development.

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