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Meet Strategy. What it is, and why you should be doing it. ©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt www.inquentia.com

Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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Page 1: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Meet Strategy. What it is, and why you should be doing it.

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt www.inquentia.com

Page 2: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

The world is changing. Faster and faster. Technical development,

digitalization and disruptive forces are all over the place, and the world

is Uberized. Unpredictably.

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Page 3: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

•  Digital Society •  Aging Population •  Urbanization

•  Sustainability

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Several global mega trends are already in motion…

…and many scholars suggest that the world is experiencing accelerating change.

Examples of mega trends:

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 4: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Strategy is about the future. We however know from history that the future is far too complex to predict. So, why bother thinking about the future? Why spending so much time in strategy projects? Why even bother thinking strategically? Is it just a waste of time? Or is there something to it…?

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With all this change, is strategy still relevant?

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 5: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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Strategy can be a powerful thing

actually

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

• Strategy has the power to help you reflect on your brand and business, its actions, purpose, existence and future. •  It has the potential to take

you from where you are today into your envisioned future. Moreover, it can help you focus your resources, gather your forces, and act like one towards your desired goals and vision.

Page 6: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

The underlying principles are really not that difficult…

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Page 7: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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•  The ability to think ahead and plan for the future is a human trait that has helped us become a successful species during centuries.

•  Planning for the future means making a series of conscious decisions now, and rather than being totally preoccupied with ongoing day-to-day events, instead taking a step back and looking at the larger picture.

•  In strategy development we ideally use this ability for the best of our organization.

Strategy means thinking and planning for the future

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Page 8: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Strategy means choosing direction…

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Page 9: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Source: Mindtools.com, Eisenhower’s urgent/important principal; Steven Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

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Strategy also means focusing on what is most important long-term

URGENT NOT URGENT

IMPORTANT I. Important and urgent

II. Important and not urgent

NOT IMPORTANT

III. Not important but urgent

IV. Not important and not urgent

How do you spend your own time? • Quadrant I is for the

immediate and important deadlines. • Quadrant II is for long-term

strategizing and development. • Quadrant III is for time pressured

distractions. They are not really important, but someone wants it now. • Quadrant IV is for those activities

that yield little value.

Finding ways to expand what is important, but not urgent is a common outcome from using the grid.

Page 10: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Strategy is about position and direction… about who - and where - you are today, and

who - and where - you want to be in the future.

It sets the course to your

future destination.

And tells you how to get there. www.inquentia.com www.inquentia.com ©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 11: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

A well defined strategy can be like the North Star, guiding you no matter where the winds are blowing.

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Page 12: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

To reach your destination safely, you however need to be somewhat realistic in relation to your outset situation…

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Page 13: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

… and most of all, you need to get your crew on board. No matter if you are a famous admiral, or a ghost pirate captain.

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Page 14: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

On your way you will have to manage storms and adopt to difficult conditions.

The realized strategy may hence at the end become very different from the intended…

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Page 15: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

… because intended strategy often don’t unfold as planned

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•  The intended strategy blends with other, unplanned ingredients, real life, changes in the environment, and ongoing learning, and finally becomes the realized strategy.

Source: Mintzberg, The rise and fall of strategic planning,1994.

•  This doesn’t have to be a sign of weakness. It could instead be interpreted as a sign of ongoing learning and adaption to a future unfolding.

Page 16: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Still, it’s important to remember that we can’t become what we want to be by

remaining who we are today.

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The Strategist

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Page 17: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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The same old thinking simply leads to the same old results, or worse

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Page 18: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Also, there is an internal cost of not having a clear strategy

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•  Every organization needs a purpose, a strategy and a tightly aligned system for value creation. •  Great strategy creates clarity for employees on what is

expected of them and clarifies what should be in focus, and what needs to be done. •  Lack of direction, focus, leadership, clear targets and relevant

resources breaks down morale and commitment. It causes the best people leave. •  Strangely, most companies are vague about their strategy and

many leave employees in the dark. Employees instead have to guess what the strategy is, based on what their managers do.

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 19: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

“Good strategy works by focusing energy and resources on one, or a very few, pivotal

objectives whose accomplishment will lead to a cascade of

favourable outcomes.”

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Richard Rumelt

Page 20: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

The three elements of good strategy as to Richard Rumelt

1.  “A diagnosis that defines or explains the nature of the challenge. A good diagnosis simplifies the often overwhelming complexity of reality by identifying certain aspects of the situation as critical.”

2.  “A guiding policy for dealing with the challenge. This is an overall approach chosen to cope with or overcome the obstacles identified in the diagnosis.”

3.  “A set of coherent actions that are designed to carry out the guiding policy. These are steps that are coordinated with one another to work together in accomplishing the guiding policy.”

www.inquentia.com Source: Richard P. Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy

Page 21: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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“A vision without action is just a dream. Action without a vision is just a waste of time. A vision combined with action can change the world.”

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 22: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

- So, what is strategy again?

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Page 23: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Asking a management strategist to define strategy is like

asking a philosopher to define the truth. Some even claim that

nobody really knows what strategy is.

The Economist

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Page 24: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

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Strategy is a process of conception, achieving the essential fit between internal strengths and weaknesses and external opportunities and threats.

Strategy is a formal process. Steps supported by checklists and formal techniques.

Strategy is an analytical process, generic positions selected through formalized analyses of indistry situations.

Strategy is a visionary process, based on intuition.

Strategy formation is a reactive process: a respons to the challenges imposed by the external environment.

Strategy formation is a collective process involving various groups and departments within the company. Strategy is a reflection of the corporate culture of the organization.

Strategy development is a process of negotiation between power holders within the company and/or between the company and external stakeholders.

Strategy formation is an emergent process, where the management team of an organization pays close attention to what works and doesn’t works and doesn’t work over time and incorporate these ”lessons learned” into the overall plan of action.

Strategy formation is a mental process, and analyzes how people perceive patterns and process information.

Strategy formation is seen as a process of transforming the organization from one type of decision making structure to another.

A Strategy Safari presents many answers

Source: Strategy Safari, by Henry Mintzberg et al

Page 25: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Strategy of today can be thought of as a collection of frameworks…

•  Strategy of today can be thought of as a collection of frameworks, models and tools for analysis, structured thinking and long term business planning.

•  Your choice of strategic framework depend on your environment, and its speed of change: •  In a stable environment, classical strategic frameworks still

works. •  In a rapidly changing, unpredictable environment classical

strategy is challenged and more modern frameworks should be explored.

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Source: Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes, Janmejaya Sinha, Navigating the Dozens of Different Strategy Options, HBR June 24, 2015

Page 26: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

•  Keeping it very simple, strategy development normally means answering three key questions:

1.  Where and who are we today – and to whom? 2.  Where and who do we want to be in the future – and to

whom? 3.  How do we get there?

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… but strategy is probably even more about asking the right questions

©2016 Inquentia Group AB and Elisabet Lagerstedt

Page 27: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Feeling a bit lost?

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Page 28: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

Inquentia is an innovative and insightful business and research consultancy based in Greater Copenhagen, Scandinavia.

In a world of increased ambiguity and accelerating change, we help companies identify, explore and develop strategic opportunities for innovation, growth and renewal. Always from a market and customer perspective. We also make sure to involve your team to utilize their skills and develop their capabilities, resulting in ownership and faster implementation.

Visit www.inquentia.com - and contact us at [email protected]

We are here to help.

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Page 29: Meet Strategy. What it is and why you should be doing it

•  HBR's 10 Must Reads on Strategy, by Harvard Business School Press, various authors •  Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour Through The Wilds of Strategic Management,

by by Henry Mintzberg, Joseph Lampel, Bruce W. Ahlstrand •  Strategy: A History, by Lawrence Freedman •  The Strategist: Be the Leader Your Business Needs, by Cynthia Montgomery •  Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, by Richard P.

Rumelt •  Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, by A.G. Lafley, Roger L. Martin •  Strategy Maps: Converting Intangible Assets into Tangible Outcomes, by Robert S.

Kaplan, David P. Norton •  Strategy from the Outside in: Profiting from Customer Value, by George S. Day

and Christine Moorman •  Tilt: Shifting Your Strategy from Products to Customers, by Niraj Dawar •  The Game-Changer: How You Can Drive Revenue and Profit Growth with

Innovation, by A.G. Lafley, Ram Charan

Finally, a list of our favorite strategy books for your inspiration!

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