Why How What and the strategy model.

Readers of my posts will know that I am a big fan of Simon Sinek and his book “Start With Why”.  Groups, teams or organisations who struggle to articulate their WHY probably also struggle with how to stay ahead of the game, choose strategies and implement actions that support their beliefs.

SoI have been working on laying the WHY model over the Strategy Model and see where I believe they fit together.

I think that the WHY of the organisation or group can be covered by their whole ecosystem, their whole reason for being, their now and their future. 

When looking at your own situation if the desired WHY and the model don’t align then either the WHY isn’t what you thought you believed or your strategy isn’t taking you there! And vice versa. 

If you have alignment then the actions that you are taking to get you to your desired goals and objectives (thoses things most closely linked to your WHAT) will be easily articulated and more readily accomplished.

And finally HOW, these, I believe, are aligned to the enablers or pathways that help us make the actions happen.

So what do you think?  Do the WHY model and the Strategic Planning model interlink just like a puzzle coming together, or is there no need to complicate each with the other?  Let me know what you think?

#strategicplanning #simonsinek

Time to Review and Renew – the 10 things envelope #plan #strategy

One of the things I encourage people to do at my workshops is to set personal goals.  It is a great ice breaker and gets people focused on the future.

I ask them to write down 10 things they would like to achieve in the next twelve months, place it in an envelope and date it.

There are no boundaries to what people are allowed to write, it can be professional development right through to relationships or financial gain.  And importantly it is private, no one is asked to share what they have written!

It is amazing how many of those objectives people find they have achieved when they break open their envelope after twelve months and review the year just gone.  Better than 50% of the objectives are usually met and a typical benchmark is closer to 80%.

So if you have been to one of my workshops where we have done this it may be time to Review and Renew. (And if you haven’t then start with an envelope now!)

Review how you went over the last twelve months and repeat the process so you Renew your objectives for the next twelve.

It only takes a few minutes, go on do it now before some pressing item comes across your desk! Oh, and put a diary entry in for twelve months time so you remember to Review and Renew every year!

No team goals = no team mindset = no team outcomes #teams

Team leaders are often frustrated by their team not getting behind the goals and vision the leader has, not contributing to developing these goals and vision and the team not therefore reaching it’s full potential.

Executing any plan requires buy in from those who have to execute and deliver the plan. The best way to get buy in is to have the team develop the plan together.

Of course this is fine for small teams but is much harder to achieve where teams are large and / or geogrpahically spread.

There are a few key things to remember when executing with teams.
* teams are made up of people with various motivations, needs and mindsets. There will be those who welcome and race for change, the early adopters, right through to the recalitrants, those who will resist at all costs. Harness the early adopters!
* teams that develop the plan together are more likely to execute the plan. They will understand the case for change because they identified it. They will sell the case for change also.
* in large and geographically dispersed teams empower change agents within geographic or organisational areas and provide them with the training and information to sell the plan
* communicate, communicate, communicate. Don’t let the rumours and water cooler conversations become the gospel. Open, honest and factual at all times is best.
* celebrate the wins
* focus on the end game, monitor progress and reward positive outcomes

Make plan execution a team sport, a fun activity and energise your team to be winners. Ask them the question, ‘how do you want others to see and speak about our team?’

And I am a firm believer that change is lead not managed!

So set the team energised in developing the team goals. Only with team goals will you have team behaviour.

Going forward but looking backwards – a recipe for disaster #strategy

When I was in charge of organisation development in a major company I had to undertake exit interviews when staff left our employment.

I can still remember one young employee, one very good at his job, telling me he couldn’t work for his boss anymore. He explained it was like sitting in the back seat of a car with his boss driving but looking out the back window of the car rather than the windscreen.

A little more research told me he wasn’t making it up. I moved his boss into a new role and put someone in charge of those staff who could lead.

So what is the story here?

Well, in this fast paced changing world you can’t be someone who is looking out the rear window. Sure it has some lessons you can learn but don’t spend too much time there, just use the rearview to seek predictable patterns, particularly from more mature markets! You need to be future ready not past wise.

Being future ready means searching out innovation and innovative ideas, collaborating with colleagues and peers and testing theories and models, particularly with your customers.

Testing means destroying mind sets and challenging sacred cows. Testing means looking at new business models, new markets, new entrants, new pricing structures, resource failures or constraints, partner failures …………… Lots of looking up the road asking what if?

As the great blues guitarist BB King sang, “You better not look down if you want to keep on flying, put the hammer down, don’t look back”

Business strategy without business modelling – it could be ugly #bmgen

There has been some on-line discussion about the difference between buisness strategy and business modelling.

Well clearly there is a difference. Strategy is around the tactics and actions you are going to put into place to reach your goals and objectives. Modelling is around how all the “operational” components of your business fit together, customers, channels, relationships, resources, activities and partners all linked through your value proposition(s) to deliver your goals and objectives. See the connection?

The best business modelling tool I have used is the Business Model Canvas developed by Alex Osterwalder. Here is a link to a great two minute video showing all about it. I strongly recommend you take the time to look at it.

What is evident is, that to develop sound strategies for the medium to long term you need to innovate your business model.

Broadly speaking you need to take the Canvas and firstly build the model as it is today. You then dissect & innovate the “as is” model having reviewed your business environment to develop a hypothesis, or two or three, on what tomorrows environment might look like. This is then translated into the Canvas, or a number of Canvases to present visual representation(s) of potential future business model(s). Preferably, if practical, you then test the model(s) and ultimately choose one. You then translate the preferred hypothesis into the new business strategy. One based upon logical analysis which has challenged the status quo.

(One colleague suggests, as a method of developing innovative thinking, taking the “as is” model and removing components (post-its) systematically from each of the 9 boxes to make you take a realistic view of your environment and to break any paradigms that might exist. Not a bad approach if your team are stuck developing the future hypotheses.)

Once you have innovated your business model you are in a position to develop the pathways to success and the strategies you need to reach the goals and objectives.

Sure, there are lots of ways of developing business strategy, but a disciplined approach using business model innovation within a collaborative framework does, based on our experience, elicit some of the best plans.

So yes, business strategy and business modelling are different, but they go together like a hand fits in a glove!

We are passionate about strategic planning and business model innovation, your questions are always gladly received.

4 L’s and strategy planning – will they remember you for the right reasons?

In 1994 the book First Things First: To Live, to Love, to Learn, to Leave a Legacy by Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill was published.

It suggests to us to balance all the elements of our lives.  The part I like the best is “to leave a legacy”.  That is to leave something behind, not just when you are no longer part of this great planet of ours, but even when you move from job to job, inside your current organisation or outside to a new organisation.

I am sure we all want to be remembered for the right reasons!  And whilst we can’t all be Nobel laureates we can make a difference in our own special way.  I wrote in an earlier post about being known as a doer.

So if you are of a mind to leave something when you move on then it is good to put a simple plan together.  Remeber every plan has three basic components; objectives, strategies and actions.   

Objectives – your mission, goal and outome(s) you seek to achieve – measurable and achievable

Strategies – what you broad approach will be to achieving your goal, your tactics and the enabling components/partnerhsips/communications needed

Actions – the distinct steps you will take to make it happen , these are yes/no testable 

You can get it down on a simple one page word or excel document.  Fill it in, place it in an envelope and date the outside.  Leave it in your desk draw and then open it up in twelve months time and review and adjust.

So remember you need to:

Live – live life to the fullest extent possible

Love – love others and be loved

Learn – seek new ideas, information and discard your paradigms

Leave a Legacy – be remembered when you are gone ……………….

At Group Strategy we are passionate about helping individuals and companies to generate superior results, to have them leave a legacy.  It is just a part of what we do.

“buckle up it’s going to be an interesting ride” – don’t miss this video!

Ericsson have shared their insights with us on the digital future now that broadband is part of every day life.  This is truly worth a look.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=R7cuatm_bqw

See my earlier post on mega waves in the music industry to see how this is affecting business.

How is your organisation preparing for the threats and opportunities this change to the ecosystem delivers?  Try using the Business Model Canvas to test your business model against changes in your ecosystem.

Try and imagine the 3D internet they refer to in the video and how it impacts each segment of the canvas.  Scary but exciting at the same time.  The options seem endless, if we can just imagine them (our paradigms, our experiences and our learnings make this hard to do) and harness the resources to make the changes we need.

Need help on any of these topics then contact me for some further info groupstrategy@comcen.com.au

As the guy says at the end of the video “buckle up it is going to be an interesting ride”

Why do dumb things often happen in smart companies?

In 1990 Peter Senge published his book The Fifth Discipline.  The book highlighted the benefits of being a learning organisation.  He contended, and I believe rightfully so, that a learning organisation is one where:

… people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning to see the whole together.

 He further wrote in the book that there is a need for five disciplines:

1. Systems thinking
2. Personal mastery
3. Mental models
4. Building shared vision
5. Team learning

When it comes to planning, in my experience, the five disciplines are extremely important. 

Indeed mental models, our paradigms built out of our own environment, experiences and prejudices, can and often do come into play when working on strategy development and business model innovation.  the result often is a lack of innovation, risk taking and strategies which fail to meet the needs and wants of the market.

Systems are complex and need careful consideration when we are moving in new directions.  A simple change to one aspect will have multiple impacts internally and externally in any organisation.

The best people to help develop and innovate are those who will be implementing a new direction.  Working with all stakeholders in a collaborative and learning environment can minimise the risks associated with new decisions.

Having worked in teams where all five disciplines were in place, (even though we didn’t know that at the time), I know from experience that the amplified energy of such an environment can and does lead to truly great outcomes.

Using a structured approach, applying Senge’s thinkings, building shared vision and keeping an open mind can avoid predictable patterns and can elicit ideas that would otherwise never see the light of day.

Taking the alternative path is a potential recipe to join the embarrassing list of organisations who look smart but prove appearances wrong!  Dumb things – smart companies, we have all seen plenty of that ………

Golden circle – “why” is the real question to answer

The golden circle is a great model developed by Simon Sinek. It talks about people buying why, not how your product or service is different or what your product or service is.

People buy from you or engage with you because of your why, your passion, your reason for being in the market, what excites you and your staff.

It is this real difference in your business model that gets you to the top and keepsmyou there. The world is full of companies selling similar products for similar prices. Today more than ever new ideas, new products and new services have a short shelf life. Smartphones are a classic examples.

But organizational culture is a different matter, this is the true differentiator. Competitors, existing or new, can copy your business in every respect (patents and IP excepted) but they can’t copy your culture!

Well not unless they buy the company and change nothing, a pretty tall order indeed!

So I recommend watching the video and working on your own golden circle.

http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action.html

And if you want to know more or discuss how to use this to energise your organisation we would love to share our passion for success with you. Contact us via one of the links on this page.

Are you stuck in an old paradigm or looking for new ways of serving your market? #bmgen

If you have been following this blog for a while you would know that I am a strong advocate of the shifts in business ecosystems.  There are lots of case studies of companies/products who got stuck in a rut never to live to serve their customers long term needs.

One of the ways of moving from current paradigms to future thinking is to undertake planning and innovative thinking using the Business Model Canvas invented by Alex Osterwalder.  I am a strong advocate of this system and use it widely with many different types of organisations.

If you want to learn more about the Canvas Alex has a great introductory video here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s&feature=player_embedded

This is one of the easiest models to understand and therefore is a great tool as an introductory exercise at a planning workshop.  It gets groups thinking about the important things such as customers real needs, revenues or benefits derived and mechanisms for delivering value.  Further it doesn’t have any of the negatives of old fashioned business environmental assessment and can be a lot of fun for participants.

A workshop where people participate, have fun and get real answers, who wouldn’t want that?

Want more info then just get in touch.  We love working with people who believe there can be truly great outcomes and want to part of the team that makes them happen.