« September 2006 | Main | January 2007 »
November 07, 2006
A good strategy process
I was recently asked to define what makes a good strategy retreat/workshop. Here are some thoughts:
Strategy is fundamentally about making choices under conditions of competition and resource scarcity, and the output of the process is to ensure that the company can align around a common framework.
The first golden rule is to separate your strategic planning time from the time you might spend on operational updates or budget negotiations. Good strategy involves looking outside, getting a solid read on the situation and developing insights that can inform your future choices.
I like to frame pre-work for a retreat using what I call five C’s of situation analysis (developing deep insights about customers, competitors, complementors, your own company and the greater context in which you are competing). I often do this with small teams ahead of time, supported as necessary by extra resources. During the retreat, we review the outcomes, and spend serious time developing alternative strategies, coming to an agreement on the best choices and working through alignment.
In terms of players, you want a small enough group to have a rich discussion, but you need to get input from people who actually interact with customers and competitors.
Perils? Many! The biggest risk is that it turns into one of those silly sessions where the senior guys go up on the mountain, get expensive facilitators, come back with some meaningless mission statement (our mission is to be the best employer for our people, the best investment for our shareholders and the best service provider for our customers) which they print on a t-shirt. Nobody believes them, there’s no buy in and it can create major cynicism.
Posted by Rita at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
ILO Institute
Visitors to our site might have an interest in the work of the ILO Institute. Here's the news about them:
The ILO Institute brings together senior executives from Fortune 500's, for dialogue with Nobel Prize winners and other distinguished thinkers (Christensen, Lessig, Dyson, others), and to provide research on best practices to make innovation a reality. Gathering are very small, the research is top-shelf, and the cost is relatively low.
For more information, email peter@ilo-institute.org.
Posted by Rita at 04:13 PM | Comments (0)
