If you have a strong understanding of how culture affects your organization’s strategy then you have better ideas of creating strategies that are truly transformative for your organization. Having said that, most organizations don’t take the time to strategize about strategy development processes and thus are not fully aware of the intended and unintended effects of their pursuits. The three main reasons for this lack of awareness are:
- The fallacy that strategy should always be top-down
- The lack of a holistic approach to strategy development and feedback
- The half-baked idea that strategy can only be created by a few people
An organization’s overall strategy is a combination of policy and plan of action that is intended to improve the making, buying, or selling of goods and/or services for the customer. Thus, it becomes imperative for organizations to keep the customer at the center of what they do and create customer experiences that make their lives easier.
If you want the strategy to be something that is shelf-ware that looks pretty on an executives’ file cabinet and it is cool to the only talk about it then don’t read ahead. For those, if you want the strategy to be more than just an exercise then I would invite you to ask the following questions about strategy and strategy development processes within your own organization:
Strategic Perspectives on Strategy:
|
Today |
Tomorrow | |
| 1. | Who is incentivized at the executive level to create a strategy? | Who should be incentivized at the executive level to create a strategy? |
| 2. | What governance structures are in place for transforming how strategy is created? | What governance structures should be in place for transforming how strategy is created? |
| 3. | Where is the technology used to help strategy? | Where should technology be used to help strategy? |
| 4. | When and how often strategic objectives are communicated? | When and how often strategic objectives should be communicated? |
| 5. | Why holistic strategy development processes are critical to achieving strategic objectives? | Why holistic strategy development processes should be critical to achieving strategic objectives? |
Tactical Perspectives on Strategy:
|
Today |
Tomorrow | |
| 1. | Who is incentivized at the middle management level to give feedback on strategy? | Who should be incentivized at the middle management level to give feedback on strategy? |
| 2. | What business units, functional areas, and teams are included to develop a strategy? | What business units, functional areas, and teams should be included to create a strategy? |
| 3. | Where technology hinders strategy development processes? | Where technology might hinder strategy development processes? |
| 4. | When is the start and end of meeting strategic objectives communicated? | When should the start and end of meeting strategic objectives communicated? |
| 5. | Why strategy development processes are critical to achieving tactical objectives? | Why strategy development processes should be critical to achieving tactical objectives? |
Operational Perspectives on Strategy:
|
Today |
Tomorrow | |
| 1. | Who sees strategy development processes as an obstacle? | Who might see strategy development processes as an obstacle? |
| 2. | What business processes provide views on the organization’s actual vs. perceived strategy? | What business processes should provide views on the organization’s actual vs. perceived strategy? |
| 3. | Where is the technology part of your understanding of the organization’s strategy? | Where should technology be a part of understanding the organization’s strategy? |
| 4. | When were you informed about the strategic objectives and strategy development processes? | When should you have been informed about the strategic objectives and strategy development processes? |
| 5. | Why strategic objectives are critical to achieving your daily tasks? | Why strategic objectives should be critical to achieving your daily tasks? |
To be clear, strategy and strategy development affects everyone inside and outside your organization which includes executives, middle management, front lines employees as well as the customers you are trying to acquire. Thus, your organization’s strategy development processes should be robust enough that they take long-term holistic views but also flexible enough to cater for bumps and take advantage of technological advancement.
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