You are after bold new goals
It is all about identifying and taking advantage of new opportunities.
You can’t improvise. There is no time for “learning by doing“.
Amid doubt and uncertainty you must stay in control.
You don’t want a strategy “off the shelf” produced by outsiders.
What you need are approaches that fit your specific situation.
At the same time, there’s not time for diving into different schools of thought.
We can help with proven systematic and people-oriented methods.
What matters is to
+ look for opportunity inside and outside “the box“
+ engage knowledge and motivation of your people
+ build up the relevant capabilities in your organization
+ bring to fruition the right blend of analytical and creative approaches.
Our DDD-model for strategy
In a traditional view, strategy is seen as a linear exercise:
– a leadership team conceives a new plan
– the plan is communicated and deployed to the organization
– the organization then executes the plan until goals are reached.
Things aren’t this simple.
After years of working alongside practitioners from three continents and from different walks of corporate life, a lot appears flawed in this perception of strategy:
+ Opportunity arises on all levels of the organization
+ Top-level strategy leaves many degrees of freedom
+ Engagement and creativity of teams and individuals makes all the difference.
In fact, strategists all across the organization can identify possibilities that aren‘t visible at the top. Only together with these “intrapreneurs” you can shape things „all azimuths“.
Practiced at its best,
strategy is a continuous and cyclical endeavor
that involves the entire organization.
Design
Strategy must first be created. We consider this a design activity.
Modern design utilizes proven and repeatable approaches that individuals and organizations can learn and become better at over time.
When you are done with designing you can tell what your strategy is.
+ You know why it is right and what assumptions it is based on.
+ You have made it unique and smart, thanks to careful design.
+ You have broken it down into a journey with distinct phases.
+ Your people can grasp it and understand why it matters.
Deploy
What everyone needs is a blueprint for action. Yet, phases further out in your strategy tend to be associated with more unknowns and assumptions.
How do you give your strategy the right level of detail?
You deploy your strategy in detail for the phase immediately ahead.
It sounds simple but it is not trivial to nail down for this phase:
+ What done looks like
+ What outcomes you aspire for
+ What programs you set up to reach them
+ What resources will be needed
+ Who is in charge of what
+ How everyone knows they are on track.
With strategy deployment, you set up the clockwork for delivery.
Deliver
It’s all about flawless execution.
You need fast decision-making and cross-functional collaboration to
+ Manage and accelerate progress
+ Resolve resource conflicts between strategic initiatives
+ Maintain focus on your strategy amidst ongoing daily operations
+ Respond to shifts in the outside environment
+ Recognize and overcome unexpected obstacles
+ Continue learning and steer things into the most beneficial direction.
The heart of successful strategy
Strategy spells change.
It won’t happen without a well-functioning system in place.
What matters even more is your daily routine to continuously
+ Create desire for change
+ Maintain the urgency
+ Think strategically
+ Validate outcomes
+ Anchor success.
Keep focusing on the heart of strategy.
Instead of getting stuck, you grow momentum.