This is an interesting article written by Rukmal De Silva from Uleash Talent Inc., Sri Lanka. It's based on the topic of strategic readiness, one of the training subjects developed within the company.
By Rukmal De SilvaDo you remember the funny story that you may have heard at some management training about three types of people in this world. People who make things happen, who wait till things happen and who wonder what happened. Probably you do. That story is all about strategic readiness.
First, it makes sense to define what we mean by strategic readiness. As implied in the enclosed questionnaire, it consists of strategic comprehension and ability to mobilize the formulated strategy.
Understanding who we are and where we stand, where we should go and how we get there is the foundation of strategic comprehension. This is the internal view. On the other hand, when it comes to strategic comprehension, you need to have the antennas out there to be in touch with the reality outside your organization. Third, you need to have humility to take the brutal facts of reality as they are and deal with them. Finally, your processes need to support all this.
The mobilization of strategy calls for engaging others into the process. The sooner this step is taken, the better the outcome. Thus, the best enabler of strategic mobilization is your organizational style or culture. Relating to that, you need to be able to put your ego aside if you want to be strategically ready organization. Your ability to take risks and allow failure comes third.
Finally, your processes – especially finances and leadership at all levels – need to support the strategy mobilization.
Now, even though your organization would score poorly when measuring your current strategic readiness, you don’t have to go instantly firing the top management. Strategic readiness can be developed through practice and acquisition of theoretical knowledge. Note, however, that if you embark on this development process, it needs commitment from more than one person in your organization. In the following we reveal some thoughts to get you started.
Heart and the headSadly, many organizations and managers think that they exist first and foremost to make loads of money. After a grand career – or maybe a burnout – they leave the company feeling somewhat empty. Of course money is the top priority of top companies, but it’s not the reason for their existence. It’s rather a positive side product. You need to be clear on what you really love to do, what is that something that makes you tick.
That conviction will open many doors for you and will tune your head to see many aspects of the world which you may have missed.
When that starting point is clear, and the guiding values are agreed on and utilized, it’s so much easier to embark on the journey of focused and strategic action.
To make sure the others are ready to join this journey, the best strategic leaders appeal to people’s hearts as well as their heads. When your organization is able to connect to people on the emotional level and offer a rationale, you have all the chances to succeed.
Indeed, in the old economy it was enough that you deal with the head. The decision would be made only when you had enough numerical proof behind it. Still today it can be claimed that analytical skills are something every strategist should have. However, in today’s information age it’s not anymore enough that you are able to break down complex entities and study them under the microscope. You also need an ability to synthesise: to form something new out of the bits and pieces of information pouring in from every direction.
This managing complexity helps in staying ahead of technological, cultural and market trends. Although information systems can be helpful; it’s the curiosity and skill of people that needs to be harnessed to maintain the organization’s ability to learn. Organization – or at least parts of it – needs to be constantly evaluated, improved, shaken and stirred. Once you have a tight-knit team of people in the strategic leadership of your organization who are able to work together and synthesize new ideas into implementable strategies, you have come a long way from operational management done by individuals.
Yet one of the biggest hurdles you may have to overcome is your own self. Your ego and your emotional attachment to your business could put you in a blind spot. In the face of strategic challenges your humility could bring you greater results.
Gut feelingToday’s constantly changing business environment calls for agility, even from big corporations. And that agility is reached only if people are empowered to make decisions on their own, within a given framework of guidelines. Similarly, the strategic decisions should not be dwelled on too long, but if something feels right, it might just be right.
Actually this is quite a relief for many people dealing with strategy; you don’t need to be a fortune teller to be a good strategist. Unconscious competence would do. You just need to formulate a catchy and simple strategy that inspires people and gives guidelines for further operational plans and action.
Trusting the gut feeling is much easier when an array of opinions is available. That’s why the strategic leaders gladly welcome people from all rungs of the organizational ladder to join in the process. Though getting decisions done and making corrections to direction later on might sound like a good option, there is one trait in contemporary strategic leadership that especially needs the traditional approach. Ironically that trait deals with the future, not the past.
It’s the possible intentions, actions and reactions of competitors, customers and government authorities that need to be predicted and prepared for. Forgetting this while doing strategic decisions leads to failure in the future, as the data gathered for the decision is taken solely from the reality that existed in the past.
Cause and effect or leapfrogsWe are no longer living in the linear world where, as a rule, effect follows a cause. Customer demands, CEOs, stock values, companies, or even whole industries can change overnight. Look what Internet or mobile technology has done to the way we operate in our daily life, talk with anyone from the airline industry after 9/11, or visit the empty beaches of Mirissa and Unawatuna after the Galle attack to see how some things just cannot be predicted.
That’s why the exemplary strategic leaders are ready to experiment at the face of uncertainty. They always hold a couple of aces up their sleeve just in case the reality deals them a poor hand, and most importantly: They are willing to make short-term sacrifices for long-term benefits. Those organizations that are always ahead of their competition are the ones who are continuously implementing their strategy. And for that they have the necessary dollars and other resources put aside. Last but definitely not least, they maintain a culture that supports experimentation and tolerance for risk-taking and failure in order to be ready to welcome the unexpected positive serendipity.
Strategy is not something that you cannot change once you fix it for the next three years. Rather, it should be understood as a learning process. But do not ever put your ego or your self-interest before the strategy. Be prepared to eat humble pie at least once in a while. Let go of the emotional ties to your idea, your project or your master plan. Set the strategy, implement operations and initiatives that are in line with it, tweak if necessary and at the end of the set time period you can clearly see the path you have walked.
Have a hearty laugh, because more often than not the sights you saw at the road were not exactly what you expected.
However, hold on to your dream! Who cares about an occasional walk astray or even a dead-end, if you have consciously gone where you wanted to go? In the beginning you might have had only dreams of where to go, but a good strategy can be your ever-illuminating torch in the deepest and darkest caves of uncertainty.
To communicate a strategy to others, it needs to be clear and focused. Ensuring that every manager at every level is accountable for contributing to the overall strategy is easier said than done.
When leaders are rolling out enticing campaigns for introducing new strategic initiatives, people might think “it’s just another management fad of the year”.
However, in the best organizations the people know why these initiatives are launched, because they were part of formulating the overall strategy where they derive from.
This way the strategic leadership is spread evenly across the organization and the top management can concentrate on building and sustaining momentum through clear communication and cheerleading.
Dive inOpportunities are around but they are not thrown at us from heaven. You need to tune your whole organization, not only your MD’s or CEO’s mind. To wrap this all up, try to remember at least these suggestions: Be humble. Put your ego aside. First comprehend. Then analyze and synthesize. Reflect. Do not be afraid to be a destroyer and a creator.
Try what you can learn from cartoons. Decide what you want to become. Even the sloths of today can become the saber tooth tigers of tomorrow!
Think about your organization and rate all the following statements from 1-5 (1 being “completely disagree”, 3 being “agree with hesitance” and 5 “ totally agree ”). Then calculate the sum for both the mobility and comprehension categories. Check from the key below what is your current strategic readiness.
Strategic comprehension Statement
1.We have an understanding of our reason for existence and the that guide the way.
2.We are 100% clear of what we are passionate about.
3.We know how the key stakeholders will react to the emerging trends of the market.
4.We have an absolute and shared understanding of our three year goal and the key strategies to achieve it.
5.We know where we are most vulnerable.
6.Our individuals and teams understand how they can contribute to the strategy formulation and
implementation.
7.We are all the time aware of the exact current status of the industry and our competitive stance in it.
8.We are staying updated of technological, cultural and market trends in our business.
9. We are aware of the emerging best practices.
10. We know the latest moves of our competitors.
11. Each of our key functional managers takes responsibility of looking up and internalizing new and better practices into their function.
12.When discussing strategic issues, we are not tied in our operational or functional role but maintain a holistic perspective.
13.We do not underestimate our competition.
14.We have a system to share any relevant information we come to know about.
Ability to mobilize strategy Statement
1.We have a proven track record of easily figuring out what to do when we are challenged strategically.
2.In our organization new things are getting done all the time.
3.We have a demonstrated tendency to learn from our mistakes and internalise the learning points to our business model.
4.We do not have to wait till the boss moves first.
5.When required we are comfortable in being spontaneous and irrational within certain limits.
6.We have reserved a separate budget for strategy implementation.
7.Our managers are held accountable to keep the strategies in motion.
8.We use strategic work assignments to engage and train our future leaders.
9.We can implement changes without resistance.
10.Our leadership team is bold enough to address the stickiest issues together.
11.We are willing to keep our egos and attached emotions aside, and carve out even better solutions together.
12.We are even willing do changes with the total business model if required.
13.We are encouraged to experiment.
14.We have the capacity to make short term sacrifices for long term gains.
Mobility 50+, Comprehension 50+Your organization’s strategic readiness is like that of Diego the saber tooth tiger’s. With your capabilities formulating, communicating, cascading and implementing strategy is easy. Capitalize on your organization’s strategic readiness to get and maintain competitive edge!
Mobility below 50, Comprehension 50+You are Manny the mammoth of strategic readiness. Your organization’s capability for carving out strategies is high but you are unable to spread the strategy into the organization and get things done based on it. Build on your wit and develop competencies further on the mobilization part.
Mobility 50+, Comprehension below 50Scrat the squirrel, your organization is moving on dangerous waters… but fast! You’re able to mobilize your organization to carry out new things on an ever-increasing speed. You start a lot of things but usually they are nothing more than management fads with no effect.
The most troublesome is that your managers might even think they are doing a meaningful work, without admitting there’s a problem. Seek help soon to get your act together. Do not allow your organization to be a country club. By stopping for a while to see what’s really important you can even become a tiger!
Mobility below 50, Comprehension below 50Dear Sid the sloth, your organization has neither the strategic thinking nor the agility in place.
The best decision at the moment is to humbly get someone to help you with the basics of strategy and then get back to the drawing board to practice strategy formulation and implementation. It’s a long hard road, but if you are willing to run an extra mile everything is possible.
