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In following on a prior post about a Board Meeting gone wrong and the leadership team not controlling the strategic narrative through context or “why?” they were engaged in specific activities, I bring back a favorite article. This article really fits well with simplifying the communication of business strategy. I have linked to the summary on HBR.org at the end of the post (FYI: Not an affiliate link).
Here’s my take on the article with some key components pulled out for reference.
The essence of the “Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?” is that the most successful business strategies are clear and succinct and, yet, this characteristic of business strategies is rare or uncommon at best. Through their experience, the authors found that most executives cannot summarize their company strategy and are unsure if their colleagues or down-line leaders understand in the same way the senior executives do.
- Vision and Mission are all well and good but are the least specific and most likely to be common within an industry. True differentiation for a company is the strategy statement — this is what sets companies apart. Take a look at the vision/mission statements from companies in your industry. Without the company name, could you identify the company? Below is a mission statement from a global pharma company. I posted this to my LinkedIn network and no one could identify the company.
- “Executives assume that the initiatives described in voluminous documentation . . . will ensure competitive success”. There is danger in assuming that a mountain of detail or pages of presentation or documentation will result in strategic alignment and action. In my experience, that mostly results in more cabinet space in the office. It’s not the number of pages that counts, it’s the message.
- “A well-understood statement of strategy aligns behavior” and “creates a guiding light for behavior”. I think this is are cornerstone concept. This characteristic of aligning behavior or allowing priorities to be set and decisions to be made is so critical to successful strategy execution. This benefit isn’t available only for huge teams in big-business. A clear strategy statement can help small teams or even a team of one (the owner)! When the strategy is clear, the decision-making is easier.
- There are 3 components to a good strategy statement, according to the authors — objective, scope and advantage. Objective: The specific ‘ends’ or outcomes desired from the strategy and the time-frame for achievement (familiar with SMART goals?). Scope: The landscape or segment where the company will compete (e.g. customer). Advantage: What your business will do differently or better (clarity about what makes your company different)
I use and recommend a three-piece story-line — Situation, So What?, Actions. Believe it or not, my three-piece format and what the authors outline at HBR are not so different and will result in very similar statements of strategy. Essentially, what you have in both formats are a place for the customer or market [Scope or Situation], a place for results [Objective or So What?] and a place for priorities/action [Advantage or Actions]. The same three components, though mixed up a little and called different things, can deliver a simplified strategy statement.
Read the summary and buy a copy if you like then share you thoughts on the article below.
Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?
by David J. Collis, Michael G. Rukstad
11 pages. Publication date: Apr 01, 2008. Prod. #: R0804E-PDF-ENG
