Truer words have never been spoken! Strategy is the plan that leads to the attack and to victory.
Businesses in transition can realize tremendous opportunity by becoming strategy focused. But, unfortunately, most businesses fail to get value from strategic planning. This is what they do wrong:
- Strategy development gets treated as an annual activity; it assumes strategy can be developed in one or two days; it can’t.
- Analysis of external factors is static and based on the idea of competition. When you only look at the competition, you cannot see the opportunities that your competitors have not yet thought about.
- Analysis of internal factors isn’t fundamental, it’s a laundry list.
- Attempts are made to align the organization to the strategy rather than the other way around.
- The process doesn’t truly reflect what an organization believes and doesn’t link beliefs to strategy. Therefore vision and mission statements are hollow.
- The organization typically lacks a champion to drive strategic change; everyone is too busy with their job.
- The plan sits on a shelf until the next strategic planning session; the organization doesn’t think and operate strategically on a daily basis.
What is the solution to these problems? The first step is to move
beyond the traditional approach to planning and embrace the
concept of the strategy focused organization, which:
- Recognizes that every business activity and every facet of the organization must be focused on strategic goals.
- Requires an organization to develop a strategy that is consistent with the values and passions of its owners and employees
- Requires an organization to recognize the inherent risks and the potential rewards of its competitive environment.
- Requires an organization to treat strategy as a daily activity, not just an annual event.
- Utilizes metrics for monitoring not only traditional financial performance and business results, but also its culture, business processes and customer perspectives.
- Make business decisions within the context of the organization and its overall strategy, not in a vacuum.
Businesses in transition can use strategic planning to unlock value
by following this unique process, developed by the Vann Group,
to create a strategy focused organization. This process:
- Recognizes that every business activity and every facet of the organization must be focused on strategic goals.
- Requires an organization to develop a strategy that is consistent with the values and passions of its owners and employees
- Requires an organization to recognize the inherent risks and the potential rewards of its competitive environment.
- Requires an organization to treat strategy as a daily activity, not just an annual event.
- Utilizes metrics for monitoring not only traditional financial performance and business results, but also its culture, business processes and customer perspectives.
- Make business decisions within the context of the organization and its overall strategy, not in a vacuum.
Businesses in transition can use strategic planning to unlock value
by following this unique process, developed by the Vann Group,
to create a strategy focused organization. This process:
- Looks to critically assess the organization in-depth prior to the development of a strategy.
- Engages participants throughout the organization to gain insight into core organizational values:
– Utilizes the organization’s core beliefs and goals in building mission, vision and strategy statements.
– Utilizes committees and task forces to identify and implement activities that the Company must improve before it focuses on growth.
- Is continuous as the organization makes progress and creates a unifying goal that is easily communicated.
- Identifies strategic objectives (areas that must be improved) for the organization to meet its Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal (as defined by Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great).
- Develops performance metrics that allow the organization to stay focused on where it’s going and to measure how well it is implementing its strategy.
- Identifies strategic initiatives that are specific actions that the organization must undertake.
- Is validated against organizational core competencies, mission/vision statements and customer value proposition, etc.
- Develops a strategic roadmap for timelines and identification of actions/responsibilities.
- Is constantly revisited, with each opportunity weighed against the organization’s mission and vision.
The Vann Group process utilizes a multi-phased approach that is
customizable to the needs and talents of an organization:
- Phase One involves a cross section of management and employees; and is focused on internal assessment:
– Development of mission/vision/hedgehog
– Utilizes committees to tackle low hanging fruit
- Phase Two focuses on developing the strategy framework
– Big Hairy Audacious Goal
– Strategic themes
– Development of performance metrics (Balanced Scorecard)
- Phase Three identifies strategic initiatives
– Develops action plan
The result is a clearly defined and easily communicable
document of ten or fewer pages.
If you have any questions about this white paper, contact Mike Vann at the Vann Group. The Vann Group is a business advisory firm that assists companies in transition to unlock their value. We provide practical business counsel to transitional companies through a customized approach that is founded upon our passion for business and our family′s 150+ year entrepreneurial track record. No other firm can provide the breadth and depth of services like the Vann Group, including strategic planning and business development, merger and acquisition advisory services, leadership succession planning, organizational development consulting, and crisis and turnaround management.
