Strategy processes are often lengthy. There are many reasons for this. For example, they are linked to decisions. Why should you commit yourself to a decision if there is nothing to gain or lose?

I myself have experienced strategy processes that took years or were aborted in between. Some have cost almost 7-figure sums. New information had often emerged in the meantime, so that the considerations and approaches had to be rethought.

Strategy development often takes too long

It takes too long. In this day and age, nobody can afford to take months to develop a strategy. It has to happen quickly and it has to last. At least 12-24 months. And it must be feasible and lead to an advantage (more customer benefit, competitive advantage).

Another phenomenon that is often encountered is that there is only planning instead of strategy. On the one hand, this stems from the desire for efficient management with target systems. Management by Objectives, Balanced Scorecard or Objectives and Key Results are common methods for controlling and managing business. Their introduction creates a framework that makes it easier to track and communicate target achievement. Deviations are also quickly identified.

On the other hand, there is the human desire for consistency and coherence. Plans satisfy this desire when they are repeated on an annual basis. They make the business predictable. They create an overview of the risks.

However, they usually only represent a continuation of the status quo with minimal changes. It is like waiting for the next unexpected event to react. If you can react within your means, then you're in luck. But if not, you will quickly enter crisis mode.

Forecasting skills, adaptation skills, resilience as a miracle cure?

Of course, forecasting skills, adaptive skills and resilience are very helpful. Predicting things in order to derive and implement opportunities for competitive advantages would be highly desirable. The same goes for adaptability: being able to react more quickly is a great advantage in business. Even without a certain degree of resilience through redundant capacities, alternative supply chains and critical stocks, hardly anyone will be able to get by.

But can you afford it? Or can you implement it?

For example, forecasting skills: managers would have to constantly deal with scenarios and options and the associated advantages and disadvantages. It would be part of their daily work. The results would have to be incorporated into an overarching construct. Discussions about this create little customer benefit and are associated with high communication and time expenditure.

For example, adaption competence: What if you have specialized production lines that need to be utilized to cover fixed costs? You cannot adapt them at will.

For example, resilience: How much redundancy, how much stock is sufficient for the targeted delivery capability? How much capital can you use to achieve the desired redundancy?

What I'm missing in all of this is focus. You can derive many activities from the desire to increase forecasting competence, adaptation competence and resilience and thus fill the day. But whether you are actually working on the right topic and devoting enough energy to it remains questionable.

What is the alternative?

The alternative is to quickly go through a real strategy process. A process that provides answers to the fundamental questions. A process that results in a focused and actionable plan. One that stands up to questioning. One that addresses the most important challenge or opportunity that you as an organization can overcome. One that gives you a competitive advantage by creating additional customer value, or making the same customer value easier. And a process that is completed in a few days.

A fast process gives you advantages. Obviously you save costs. You can go through it more often if necessary. And you will ask the right questions more often than by planning with target systems or generically increasing forecasting competence, adaptation competence, resilience. You are more likely to examine the business from all sides, be proactive and have a real chance of leaving the competition behind.

What is part of a strategy process?

There are a few things that always feature in a process in some form.

1. understanding the organization's current situation: This may include reviewing existing strategies and initiatives, analyzing market trends, assessing internal capabilities, and identifying strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

2. definition of goals and objectives: The framework for the process comes from vision, from the values , from the purpose and from the overarching goals of the organization.

3. market analysis and competitive situation: Examination of the external environment.

4. stakeholder engagement: The involvement of key stakeholders is necessary for implementation support.

5. strategic options and alternatives: You need options to decide between. Choosing one option is always a rejection of another. This creates focus.

6. decision making and prioritization: Selecting the option. Listing assumptions and risks. Deprioritizing other options.

7. action planning and implementation: Establish an actionable plan with clear milestones, responsibilities, timelines and success metrics.

8. monitoring and evaluation: Establish the means for feedback and review.

9. communication planning: Crafting a communicable story that builds on the organization's existing capabilities and strengths.

10. stress test: Questioning the plan. Does it really make sense? What does the customer gain? What if this or that? Can it cope with headwinds?

That's quite a lot. What is done in your organization? What is skipped?

How can the strategy process be accelerated?

What is the secret? Can you speed up the process without reducing quality? If so, how?

• Reduce the number of participants in the direct discussion: By reducing to 4-7 participants (core team) you reduce the number of communication channels between the participants. The number of communication channels increases quadratically with the number of participants. Therefore, time and costs are much higher with larger groups of participants. However, you need participants who will later implement the decisions and who know the business and new developments at customers and in the market.
• Involve the organization and other stakeholders: Give everyone else a chance to contribute with observations, ideas and questions. Surveys are ideal for this. The feedback is helpful for moving quickly through the 10 points, as focus topics become visible, but ideas for options are also introduced. Communication that addresses the topics in the survey leads to faster acceptance and implementation.
• Asynchronous implementation of sub-steps: Going through a few sub-steps will save you a lot of time during the workshop. The things that can be done in advance should also be done in advance. A survey can be done within a week (if you accept, even if not everyone can take part due to vacation or illness). Interviews can be conducted with the most important people in one or two days.

• Ask questions: When participants are asked to exclusively ask questions about the topic within 2-4 minutes (without evaluating the questions or immediately formulating answers), several things happen at once. Firstly, the topic and the previous approach are called into question. You may find a different (better) framework for the task. Secondly, you challenge your subconscious to find good answers. Hal Gregersen, from MIT, has often used this method and has found that one or two new options are found in a very short time that were not previously thought of. It also starts a search process, which in my view interrupts the retrieval of automatic answers. The imagination is stimulated. This allows you to get better answers more quickly, even if you find yourself at a dead end. Questioning techniques can therefore be used to increase efficiency in the workshop itself or in the interviews.
• A moderator with knowledge of innovation: A moderator who can react according to the situation and methods, who is familiar with classic and newer methods for finding ideas for innovations and strategy, will guide you better on your way than someone who tries to sell a scheme. Strategy is always very individual. A scheme alone will rarely be enough.

What does that mean for you?

You have to make a decision. Either continue as before, with all the risks and side effects. Or you can set new priorities and question the entire system in an efficient way.

I think that if you really want to make the organization fit for the future, you will have to question the entire system more often.

Perhaps none of this is really new to you. You just don't need a little push. If you want to test the effect of such an approach without risk, I offer a free pulse check for the strategy. Simply find 5-10 people with whom you can do the Pulse-Check together. This means that you write your observations, questions and ideas in an anonymous survey (which I provide on request) and you receive this feedback unfiltered as a raw version, and somewhat edited as a presentation. You will see the mix of questions and the need for strategy development.

The longing is great. The desire for a clear and accessible path that leads us safely to our destination. A path that can withstand even the worst questions and challenges. After all, we want to reach our destination.

Perhaps you know this.

It's a topic that is played out again and again. The desire for one strategy or even several. The desire to minimize risk. The desire for as little effort as possible to achieve a goal. The desire to keep changes to a minimum.

But if you want to achieve a goal, there are two possibilities. Either you have everything you need and just need to focus accordingly. Or you have to acquire or learn the skills first.

In both cases, you have to deal with uncertainty. In both cases, you are making assumptions in your approach. In both cases, you are dealing with a future over which you have only limited control.

And these assumptions make the strategy a bet. The bet is that the assumptions will come true and that you have not overlooked anything significant. But the assumptions also mean risk.

Is there an alternative?

To do nothing? Here, too, you have implicit assumptions. The assumption that continuation will lead to an optimal result. Life shows that this is often not the case. You make yourself vulnerable when others recognize this and think of a better way to reach your goal.

In other words, it won't work without betting. Which bets you want to make and how they are supported by your colleagues and employees is part of the art of leadership.

My approach for finding a strategy:

1. Take the pulse: Is there a desire, an urge for a new strategy among employees? What observations, ideas or questions are there?

2. Interviews: What changes are there? What new opportunities are there? What can be built on? What strengths have been demonstrated in past successes? And what stories are being told?

3. Search for the most important addressable challenge or new opportunity that will move the organization forward. Decide on the focus.

4. Set up an actionable plan with milestones for the next 12-36 months, backlight assumptions, align with capabilities, challenge the plan, iterate if necessary.

5. Shaping the change story. Derive from past successes and the new circumstances.

Although, it looks like a lot to think about, it can be done rapidly within a few days. This is why I call it Strategy in three days. It works also at your organisation.

Strategy is the decision to focus on an addressable challenge or opportunity. I wrote about focus in the last blog post. Choosing one requires judgment and information.

But what is addressable? With a little imagination, you could say pretty much anything. If someone manages to send rockets into space and at the same time build a globally recognized brand for electric cars, then there can be no limits to addressability.

On the other hand, everyone knows about the initiatives and projects that nobody likes to talk about. Things that didn't work, even though so much was done right. This means that even small processes that have already been used several times can suddenly get out of kilter. All it takes is one case that deviates from the standard to not fit into the grid.

Now, when you collect topics for challenges or opportunities, you have an assessment to make. An assessment of the feasibility and potential. Possibly also about interactions with other activities.

The assessment can often be made quickly. You can set up a team or hire external consultants, but you still need the answer in minutes rather than months.

A little warning up front. According to Kaneman, we humans tend to greatly underestimate the effort involved. Our accurate memory fades somewhat and we are often overly optimistic about new things. If I remember correctly, a factor of 5 is often the norm when it comes to time or budget.

What helps you to assess the addressability of topics?

1. Past successes or failures

In workshops, I like to start with past successes. Everyone likes to talk about them and give their perspective on the success levers. I like to look at the size of the potential (because small, easy topics indicate limited addressability of larger topics). And the degree of coordination required throughout the organization or with external parties.

Coordination is often difficult to achieve in large organizations. This is due to different objectives or the nature of the business units. If past successes indicate a strong ability to coordinate across silos, then it is a good sign.

2. Topics within the industry

If an opportunity lies within the industry in which your organization operates, the chances of creating value there are statistically higher than in a new industry. Even if the boundaries are sometimes blurred, your customers know your organization for something. If you suddenly do something different, quite a few customers will be confused.

3. An image for: What's new?

Ask the question: What is new? What experiences do you already have that indicate that you can deal with the new? Specifically name the experiences. This will help you later in your communication when you package the strategy in a story. You can work with an analogy. This strengthens the organization.

4. Look for other role models outside your organization

If you know another organization, preferably from a different industry, that has already tackled a similar topic, get in touch. Ask them to tell you about the requirements and hurdles you can expect when tackling the topic.

5. Ask what is difficult

If you want to elevate a topic to "strategic" status, it should not be a run-of-the-mill issue. Things that your organization does routinely do not fall under the "strategic" label. So a long list of action points that are all great and sunny is not a strategy if they can be implemented routinely. You need a theme where you consciously reallocate resources or make investments accordingly. It's a decision and also a bet because it's based on an assumption.

Assessing addressability requires judgment. Judgment requires observation and experience.

Two days I called for more focus in order to achieve results. Only when you focus do you have enough strength to drive in the direction you want to go. Focus helps you persevere, maintain motivation and make quick decisions.

I have left open the question of how to find focus. It's a question that requires judgment. If you push topic A, there is less room to push topic B and C.

But how do you know if topic A is fruitful and will have the greatest impact? How do you know that topic A is feasible? How do you know that the assumptions that must be true are as true as you imagine them to be?

The answer is: you can't, there is always a certain amount of risk.

But you can minimize the risks or find the issue with the greatest impact. Here are some ideas:

1. Tap into the wisdom of the crowd

Get input and feedback from several people who you trust to have your best interests at heart. Get perspectives from different angles. And then make a decision.

2. Use familiar models

In workshops, I like to use familiar models like the Porter Five Forces, the Value Chain, the Business Model Canvas or the 7S... to evaluate the different areas with the biggest challenges or the biggest opportunities. This gets the discussion going on the different topics. You may find the biggest issue you can tackle that has the biggest impact.

3. Ask questions

Take three minutes and write down questions (no answers, no explanations, no justifications) about the topic of focus. Do this with questions only. You will experience that one question leads to the next and you will have variations in your questioning as you may ask counter questions or HOW or WHAT IF questions that open up new avenues for you.

4. Ask WHY a few times

Sometimes questioning #3 doesn't work so well. Especially if you've done it so many times before on the topic in question. Then try asking WHY a few times and get to the core. It's kind of like open heart surgery, but when you see it, you can then start asking WHAT IF or HOW questions.

5. If nothing works

In rare cases, your gut will tell you that you haven't found a satisfying center of gravity yet. This may be because you're already pretty focused. But you are still disappointed. This means you need to change your focus, which can come with a lot of risks. In this case, you may be able to find a new focus with a side-activity. Make it a priority to diversify your activities a bit and see what works and why. It's a bit counterintuitive, but it could be just the spark you need for a new adventure.

6. The last solution

Take a walk, or a break. Rely on the help of your subconscious. Creativity, new ideas and confidence often arise when you don't expect it. You don't know in advance when or how, but in most cases it will happen. Give it a day or two.

In larger organizations where employees strive for performance, they may have their own agenda when it comes to finding focus. In this case, it's still good to listen to everyone and work out the common ground. In most cases, an outside facilitator can help you walk through the chaos that comes with finding the focus. If it still looks like a rotten apple, the person at the helm has to decide. This is what this person is paid for.

Happy New Year!

New year, new happiness.

Even if the motivation to plan something special for the year is great, the canvas is usually not quite so blank. However, the turn of the year is a good time to clear the canvas of things that no longer have any value or only distract you.

It's a good time to set your focus for the year. Focus makes to-do lists shorter. Focus puts more power behind the actions you choose. Focus allows you to escape the hamster wheel and take a break from time to time. With focus, you can achieve your results better.

Focus is the key behind every good strategy. Often difficult to achieve. Nevertheless, the colors will shine and change will be possible.

Happy New Year!

Some years ago, Richard Rumelt wrote about good and bad strategy. A bad strategy is coming in different shapes and sizes. Examples he provides are:

• fluff: A superficial abstraction of strategy often hides mediocrity. Mission/vision statements without additional explanations are not very helpful. I remember a long time ago I had an idea that would fit into one of the application areas of the new strategies. Although the fit was obvious, no one was interested in the idea. I had the impression that the application areas were just a communication tool to redesign the existing products into a modern style for external stakeholders.
• bad strategic objectives: If the objectives are fuzzy or just a long to do list, than there is no focus and hence no results.
• blue sky thinking: If the strategy is not based on realistic capabilities, it will overwhelm the organization and prevent positive results. Think of the GE example where employee performance was graded. If someone felt that an employee was not performing in relation to the lofty goal, they were out. The downfall was inevitable.

A good strategy, on the other hand, is based on a sound diagnosis, a general guiding policy and a coherent package of measures.

He does not say what these look like and for how long the strategy is a good and valid strategy. Certainly this is something that needs to be adapted to the concrete context.

When I look at these points, they are solid, well-founded and based on good arguments. The situation is not overly complicated by academic frameworks or models that only cover a limited number of aspects. Frameworks or models such as Porter's 5 Forces, SWOT and Business Model Canvas can help to reach a conclusion, but they are no substitute for the diagnosis, the formulation of the guideline and the package of measures.

The way to the result is to ask questions. Questions about your value proposition, your stakeholders, your unique insights and the inner logic of your arguments. The questions capture the essence of the playing field and lead to the conclusion of how you will win, what capabilities and processes you need to win.

So why not ask more good questions?

Can Tradition & Technology go together?

Wouldn’t it be a dream?!

We love technology if it make things easier.

We love technology if it enables us to do new things.

But…

Think of cashierless stores.

Although they are around for quite some time, they don’t prevail yet.

Even the known examples are still experimenting.!

For cashierless stores tradition and technology might interfere.

It is a new experience that breaks with tradition…

But are there good examples?!

Think of swiss watches.

They have a lot of heritage and tradition.

They have introduced technology without clashing with tradition.

And doing well…!

So, if you think of using new technology you might check with traditions first.!

When was the last time, you thought about low costs and high value?

We tend to do both, but have difficulty reconciling them.

A few have mastered it.

Think of classic examples Walmart, Ikea, Motel One.

How did they come up with that?

I am not so sure about Walmart and Ikea, but for Motel One one of the founders Mrs. Schelle-Müller explained ones: They wanted to create low priced pensions at intersections of highways. But it didn’t work out. Then inspired by the teal color of the ocean (Mallorca) they started equipping a container with high value design furniture to mimic a room.

Then the stripped much away what you find otherwise. Conference rooms, breakfast rooms, different room layouts… and arranged so much more to bring together design and budget to business travelers in the center of cities.

If you know, that they started in 2000 than you see the power of combining low costs and high value.

Coming up with ideas is good and very affordable.

Testing hypotheses is the natural next step.

There is the common vehicle called minimum viable product.

It is something that delivers the core benefit.

It is for testing the business system.

But this minimum viable product is not a test.

Still you need to bring it in front of people it interact with that.

To do this, people often build a landing page and drive traffic with online ads to it.

They see, if they get purchases, subscribers or whatever.

This is OK, if you go into a transactional relationship.

A spot relationship that only happens to do a quick one-time exchange.

But how many ideas and products demand more than that.

I mean trust.

In this case, you must first build a relationship with your potential customers.

Building relationships and trust requires listening, persistence and consistency.

This is where minimal viable products and quick tests have a problem.

If the idea and product requires a certain level of trust with your customers.

However you need an idea that can spread to have an exchange.

Masters have exchanges in the real world. With postcards, letters and real conversations.

Strategy can be done.

At the end it is just a choice.

A choice

• what you want
• how to go about it.

It is a choice on the information at hand.

It is a choice on your assumptions.

It is a choice how you imagine the future.

To make a choice you need options.

Options that tackle the greatest addressable challenge or opportunity.

Options that are within your (stretched) reach.

Options for which you have the best case that they will move you forward.

Here is How

Step 1:

Become clear of what the organization or unit is capable of

Look into past successes and failures

Step 2:

Take stock

Collect current observations, ideas, pain points and concerns from customers and all others

Step 3:

Decide on what the greatest addressable challenge or opportunity for your organization is

Step 4:

Ask questions

Ask: Why is it difficult?! Ask: What if…?! Ask: Isn ‘t it…?! Ask: Can we address it?

Step 5:

Decide on your strategic moves

What will help you succeed?

Step 6:

Develop your action plan

Step 7:

List your assumptions

What must be true?

Step 8:

Challenge your assumptions and plan

Step 9:

Develop a story and communication

(Step 10):

Iterate if needed

Since there are assumptions, there is some risk.

It must feel a little uncomfortable.

Than it is good!

If it doesn’t feel good, ask: What is the greater risk?’

Just continue as is?

or

Having a strategy?