Formulating strategy is to a number of organisations, a tricky, complex process that in the end is left either in the boardroom, or at the strategic 'blue skies conference' or even to the "scribbling on the back of a cigarette box", then we wonder why the implementation thereof 'goes up in smoke'.
The Strategic process itself is not a complicated process, but it is a complex process, and one that is of paramount importance to the future sustainability of your business. There are mountains of books by dozens of authors and a forest of academic research on the topic of Strategy. Despite all this, the Ubu Guru of Business Strategy is without peer; Prof. Michael Porter of Harvard Business School; and in his words: “The Strategic process is the choosing of a set of activities, in order to deliver a competitive edge”.
The entire value chain must be interrogated in order to provide an integrated and long lasting strategic solution to the business environment, one cannot simply treat the cause, because in almost every instance the symptoms lie much deeper and any proposed solution must be far reaching in order to fix the symptoms.
The Billy Joel song: “River of Dreams” contains the lyrics: “I’ve been searching for something, something so undefined that can only be seen by the eyes of the blind, in the middle of the night”. These words encapsulate the essence of an applied solid strategic process.
If there is nothing else that you choose to do regarding the future of the business, the one thing that must be non-negotiable is the strategic foundation.
The SQC Strategic process, which incorporates the fundamentals of Scenario Planning, and the accountabilities critical to Strategy Implementation success, will guide you through this maze. This process is facilitated in conjunction with your executive team within a closed workshop, or where suitably identified, in an open workshop where cross pollination with peers in like or unrelated industries can interact, and from where immense benefits can accrue.
The latter normally lays the foundation for participants to return to their business and conduct their own strategy session/s.
|
