Getting Your Strategy House in Order

COVID showed us that business strategy was not up to the task of dealing with disruption.  The pandemic was certainly complex, unpredictable, rapid and very tangled in its impact.  Supply chain impacts and the economic fall out that we are still experienced show how tangled the situation was.

When disruption occurs, we need to know how to handle it.  Our leading documents in business – the business strategy and business plan were not helpful for most businesses and teams when COVID hit.   

While the pandemic showed us we need to adapt when disruption hit we had another look at the way we built key governance documents – like a strategy – we realised that the traditional approach was not up to the job.

The traditional strategy formulation approach is:

• led from the top

• managed as a governance process rather than an innovation process

• prepared for stable times

• rarely stress tested

• often a repeat of the previous strategy, or replicated from another company in the sector

• designed as a list rather than visual representation

• often confused in the vision it provides leading strategy stakeholders and teams with little insight on the purpose of their work

• culturally misaligned leading to team resistance

• little to no involvement of team members in the strategy formulation process leading to loss of motivation

• poor communication about the strategy leading to a lack of inspiration to achieve the business purpose.

Agile Strategy is the alternative and this strategy formulation process is:

• dynamic in approach with AI an additional support during the strategy formulation phase

• designed to stress test and identify the objectives that will help the team adapt the strategic objectives to complex situations and disruption events

• inclusive of all strategy stakeholders

• focused on the strategic objectives that will help improve internal decision making, particularly in uncertain times

• visual which helps everyone quickly understand connection points

• strategic in its orientation so that current and future performance activities are linked to trends enabling improved response

• codified to enable easy governance reporting and board oversight.

Leaders are expected to lead in times of unpredictability and uncertainty.  Having tools to help adapt to the rapid onset of change triggered by disruption is strategically smart.

Agile strategy helps leaders make better strategy - because it focuses on how a business or a team adapts to uncertainty and complexity.

Now that is strategically smart!