Strategy improvement -

Setting and getting out of the blocks

In pervious blogs, we shared workshop findings about issues in strategy delivery. We drew conclusions and discussed them here. We discussed the concepts and approach to use for addressing issues and shared discussion here. We talked specifically about the influence of strategy design on delivery here, and in our recent post, discussed the dual pathways (Strategy Operating Model and Strategy Information Model) to deliver change.

In the final article in this series, before the Improving Strategy Implementation workshop - we offer specific advice about how to approach change. We recognise the difficulty that many face in getting improvements in strategic management and strategy implementation off the ground and suggest a different approach to 'First Steps'.

With all the insights provided at the workshop - all that is left is to choose the colour of the brave pants you want to pull on.

There is no getting away from it, changing an organisation – especially changing it across domains, at a strategic level - it will be complicated. We have choices:

Get the boss to buy in and drive top down.

Classification: Possibly fast and effective, Difficult, Unlikely.

Let’s be honest - unless you have a well thought through, compelling business case that somehow gains air-time – this is just not going to happen (unless you are the boss of course) – but - get lucky and you’ll get the driver and resources needed

Build a step at a time among lower-level stakeholders.

Classification: Slow, Difficult, Unlikely.

Building a consensus across a larger community then getting agreement on design decisions means progress is inevitably slow, and will take a lot of effort, and perhaps only deliver an imperfect partial solution.

Build an exemplar solution then sell the success.

Classification: Fast (step 1), Easy (step 1), Unlikely.

You may get a solution you want and be able to control it – but if everyone does this, you still must integrate it – and you will have to deal with parochialism form the start. ‘Let me build a pilot’ = ‘let me avoid engaging and make what I want’?

Looking at improving strategy delivery, the solution components for that are ‘up and down’ the organisation levels, and ‘left and right‘ (and ‘backwards and forwards’!) across the organisation in reach.

So, unless a CEO engages their exec level peers, they are unlikely to achieve an integrated approach. Unless there is Executive Board agreement, there cannot be a bottom-up solution, and to be parochial by avoiding engagement will just store up adoption issues. So realistically – how would I – as a potential sponsor of an improvement initiative - get something off the ground?

It just sounds far too hard!!

It is hard, but it doesn't have to be that hard. In the series of blogs we’ve posted, we believe we have signposted the right approach:

we’ve seen the strategy delivery issues presented in this series and can recognise most of them as relevant to our organisations
we’ve understood the Strategy Journeys approach to strategy and the BIG and ISO 37000 approach to integrated governance and can see there is a way to improve strategy outcomes and business performance
we understand strategy formulation cannot be done in a hermetically sealed bubble - strategy must be conceived and managed for delivery
we understand that there will be a strategy information and a strategy ecosystem to improve

The proposition in this blog is that instead of trying to drop a perfect lure right into the CEO’s in-box, or chipping away for years with people who have their own agendas, or thinking that your ‘pilot’ solution will work for everyone – take a different tack? How about establishing first whether there is appetite to improve?

Within the Toyota Production System – and Japanese culture itself – the word Nemawashi has come to mean an informal process of laying the foundation and building a consensus of opinion before making formal changes to any particular process or project. It starts before any requirements, any vision, any build - yet it is a step that so many miss out before significant change projects.

Instead of trying to solicit requirements, galloping into a design, and trying to make business case based on guesswork – how about first engaging relevant stakeholders on pains and possible gains?

We will, of course, at some point need a requirement and a solution design - but firstly - can you establish the will to make one? Can we establish a (coalition of) sponsor(s) to start an initial conversation? Before we dive into the details of what how or why - can we understand if there is simply appetite to do something?
You’ll need a simple current state picture which you can talk around with stakeholders and use to tease out the issues as they see them. You can scribble in the diagram and tease out their viewpoints of solutions and specific expectations
Can you collate those into a holistic picture that all stakeholders can recognise, and use that to gain consensus on priority?

If we have that, as we have seen in this series of blogs, there are concepts, principles and approaches we can use to develop high level solution components. Can you use that vision to engage your stakeholders with what needs to be done?

Perhaps all you need now is a pair of ‘Brave pants’ to wear? Where can you find those…?

The Improving Strategy Implementation Workshop illustrates how we transition from collected pain points and expectations to conclusions, responses and solutions based on common sense concepts and a step-by-step approach, build in strategy formulation and delivery to our thinking and help us start to form the approach to what we will need to do to improve our Strategic Management and Strategy Information Models. Ultimately – we discuss HOW to engage our organisations for change through a First Steps process that builds the will to make change before significant spending on detailed business case or design process.

So - which colour suits you best?

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