#TheStrategicProcess (II) #Vision

I'll start with a quote I discovered in the "Execution Premium", book written by Kaplan and Norton. It says: 

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest way to victory. Tactics without strategy is the previous noise before defeat". 

The Strategy and the Operations (Tactics) are different things and must be managed differently. Both are essential and so, for a success in the #StrategicProcess development we have to integrate both. We commented in another occasion that the Strategy is the path between where we are and the point we want to reach. To analyse where we are, there are a number of tools that will be introduced in my blog. 

More difficult for many senior managers are to define the point we want to reach. It is not easy to talk about the future, but we must do it to set and choose the most suitable way to reach the defined end point. Therefore top management must have a Vision, a long-term goal which is ambitious but feasible to do in the defined time. 

Yes, this is important because a strategy is defined for a given time, which means, the strategies are born, developed and ends up being replaced with one that will try to be better than the last one. In the world of enterprises, companies and businesses it is not worth to say "I have a dream" accept we have to complete it with "I have a dream. In five years we will be ......” 

The long-term goal (Vision) must be ambitious as we have already noted. This is to improve our starting point. I like to represent the #StrategicProcess as a ladder where the starting point is at the beginning of it from where we have a limited view of our environment. The point of arrival, long-term goal (Vision) is located at the top of the stairs where you can access to wonderful views of our environment. 

Each of the steps up will be a part of the #StrategicProcess to be developed. The higher up we can be the more ambitious our Vision will be, but it is clear that we must measure the great effort we have to do for not stopping in the middle of our journey which would cause an unstable situation. Conclusion: an ambitious Vision yes, but achievable to reach and perform at the set time.

#TheStrategicProcess (II) #StrategicAnalysis

When we see the need of a change in the strategy of the company because the business doesn't work well or because we want to give another approach, we will proceed for a Strategic Analysis which must answer two main questions: why and for what? Do I need to redefine my strategy and why I want do it? Is it necessary? What am I going to get from this change and big effort? 

Before beginning #TheStrategicProcess development (#SPd) all questions senior managers ask themselves are few. In the process of decision-making ask yourself: what is really what you want to achieve, who has to join in, how to do the process, when to do it, where you must intervene and especially how much the strategic process will cost you?

Nevertheless, as discussed in another publication, nine out of ten companies fail to define and implement  #TheStrategicProcess. A #SPd is a complex process that requires the efforts of the entire organization. But the entire organization cannot be permanently involved in the definition and development of  #TheStrategicProcess. 

#TheStrategicProcess would be infeasible because the company must continue with the daily activities. The business should continue during the strategic process which can be longer than desired. Not everyone can participate in the process permanently but all effort, understanding and dedication of everyone is going to be asked to carry out the process. 

There are many reasons why a Strategy can fail. We will enter more in detail in next publications. The General Management must be implicated from the beginning till end of #TheStrategicProcess, means from the first debates about why is necessary to initiate the process till the end of the Strategy implementation. The Budget must be also include the necessary costs to affront #TheStrategicProcess with enough resources.

Perhaps here is one of the key points for the success of  #TheStrategicProcess. How do we combine our day to day business with a strategic process that speaks about new challenges for the future? Present and future must be perfect combined to achieve the short term targets with the long term targets. How do we engage people while boosting our daily activity in the difficult times we are living today? This is the exciting challenge we have with this new blog.

#TheStrategicProcess (renewed version)

THE STRATEGIC PROCESS

(renewed version)

Go further, go faster, go precise

#TheStrategicProcess

Post by: José Carlos Álvarez Tobar follow me on Tweeter @jcalvareztobar

#TheStrategicProcess (II)

There are many important reasons why a company starts the development of #TheStrategicProcess. A generational change in ownership, a change of course in business, a renewal of an exhausted strategy, an extension of the current strategy, a change in the executive management of the company, going international, etc. What is beyond doubt is that in such a situation the company and its executives are facing a major challenge that must be analyzed very good the starting point (where are we?) and the end point (where we want to go?). Any change in the company involving the initiation of #TheStrategicProcess Development (SPD) entails additional costs which can be quite significant depending on the size of the change to be made. #TheStrategicProcess is not a simple change in the company. It represents normally a major change affecting all employees, processes and probably also the business model. Therefore we will dedicate time to analyze the starting point and the point of arrival. The middle road ahead, #TheStrategicProcess, will define the new Strategy.

The #Strategic Process(II)

Dear all: second part of #TheStrategicProcess is not yet finished. In the meantime following the request from the audience I come back with a renewed first part. I have introduce more examples to open the debate and to enrich this new first part. I hope to to have the same interesting audience as I had with first part. Enjoy and come back with interesting proposals to debate together.
Yours sincerely, José Carlos Álvarez Tobar
  
A Strategic Process is not too difficult to define but it is quite difficult to implement. Usually nine out of ten companies fail to implement their strategy. The percentage is too high to stay with folded hands not knowing what is necessary to do. The data are even more serious when you consider that only 5% of people that make a company truly understand the company strategy generally defined by their senior leaders. Furthermore only 25% of senior managers have incentives related to the success of the new strategy and at least 60% of companies have not related the annual budget with the new strategy. To make matters worse, 85% of executives spend less than one hour a month to discuss and debate with their work environment on the new strategy. Any strategic change that results in a new Strategic Process within the company is at least a process that costs money. So all the time we spend on analyzing why and how of these data and how should be defined and implemented a Strategic Process, will be well spent.