Corporate Strategy and it’s failing points

Just like other write-ups of mine, this is also coming from a casual conversation with a startup founder. It was her debacle with a strategy consultant and the confusion it brought her way.

The air around strategy seems to attract more seriousness than strategy itself. What do I mean by this? When strategy is to be referenced, complex and difficult seem to fill our minds. Professionals who birth strategies do not help when their serious demeanor echoes “we no come play”. No disrespect, it is an intensive process that requires a lot of data referencing and reflective activities. I have had my fair share of involvement in this process and will continue to do so. Nonetheless, a word to myself and my like, “Oga Ade, try relax”

Back to the subject at hand, to the uninitiated, the bedrock of corporate strategy are simple statements that states what an entity has committed to pursuing for its common good over a period of time. In this, everybody is involved, they all know their role based on in-depth understanding of the what, how, where and when.

Now let’s break the statements above in their simplest elements:

Complexity and Difficulty: if the youngest new hire with no experience who can read and write in the language a strategy document is written is unable to read and understand such document, then be rest assured that some drivers in the middle and senior management might only have a sketchy understanding of what they should cascade downwards. This is the first step to a failing strategy (choice of the word failing is intentional because the situation can still be salvaged)

Common good of the company: One of the swiftest paths to ownership is participation. When essential stakeholders, who are meant to embrace the strategy and facilitate its dissemination, are excluded from the thought process behind the strategy’s formation, discontent often arises among those who feel marginalized – those who are unable to self outgrow perceived exclusion. In such instances, it becomes “their” strategy rather than “our” strategy.

Date Referencing and Reflective Activities: Tunnel Visioning is one of the ways of limiting the vastness and richness of thought output. However, where a culture of anyone and everyone can make sense is at play, the process build up for deriving strategies that involves diverse professionals in the workplace is sure to throw up exciting outcomes. Those engaged in product development, for instance, recognize the value of this inclusive approach and treat it with utmost seriousness.

The What, How, Where, and When: These components encompass a multitude of considerations, some of which have been touched upon above. It is crucial to acknowledge that strategy should extend beyond the corporate level. Every functional unit should devise a practical plan that delineates their contribution to the overarching strategy. This plan should be comprehensible to all members of the respective functional unit, outlining what, how, when, and where they should contribute. Furthermore, a robust tracking mechanism should be integrated into the execution process. This tracking system should be enterprise-wide, featuring a real-time dashboard accessible to decision-makers. You cannot go wrong with tracking and measuring – someone/unit within the whole should be saddled with this responsibility.

Data Channels: Learn to cultivate your data. None should go to waste. Data are like chirping from birds, listen carefully and you would pick the best melodies. Suffices to say, where strategy is not funneled to the different data channels, you might be too slow while you think you are fast, you might be off course while you think you are on course.

To conclude, fostering a corporate culture centered on collaboration, performance, and ownership should be a priority for any organization. Some of the ingredients for cultivating such a culture have been discussed earlier.

Lastly, to all employees, spare a thought for your Founder, CEO, and Managing Director. Navigating the business landscape in this era is no trivial task. The solitude at the summit has never been as profound as it is today. To the Consultant, not pile of documents but true value that ensures the end goal is achieved/achievable. Design is great, Implementation is better!