Purpose & Strategy – How do organisations determine purpose, create and execute meaningful strategic

07/10/2015

Rebecca Homkes

Purpose & Strategy – How do organisations determine purpose and create and execute meaningful strategies?

6 October 2015 Vienna Dr. Rebecca Homkes Fellow, London Business School Director, Ashridge Strategic Management Centre (ASMC) Fellow, Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics rebecca@homkes.com

© Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes

Meaning, purpose, and strategy

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Views on purpose range dramatically

vs.

vs.

If we want to know what a business is, we have to start with its purpose. And the purpose must lie outside the business itself. In fact, it must lie in society, since a business enterprise is an organ of society. There is only one valid definition of business purpose: to create a customer. …Peter Drucker © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

What purpose has become:

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Rebecca Homkes

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But what purpose is NOT:

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Rebecca Homkes

Essence of purpose?

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Rebecca Homkes

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Essence of purpose:

What unmet market need are we meeting?

Who are we, and what makes use distinctive?

What do we exist as an organisation to achieve, and what are we willing, and not willing, to do to achieve it?

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Rebecca Homkes

To the Silicon Valley Start-ups I work with, PURPOSE came first:  What problem do people have that we can solve, even if they don’t know they have it yet!?!  What doesn’t exist, that should?  What need do people and organisations not have that we could offer?  What does not work, that should? 

How can we make it work in a new, better, different way?

 Where to experiment? What innovative approach could address this? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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© Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes © Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes

When I see purpose, I see the intersection of: Strategic insight Innovative approach to meeting unmet market need

Unifying commitment

Purpose

Distinct reason for being

Strategy is its midterm expression © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

What purpose looks like

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Rebecca Homkes

To the Silicon Valley Start-ups I work with, PURPOSE came first: What problem do people have that we can fix?

What do we not have that we should?

What need do people and organisations have that we could offer?

What does not work, that should? How can we?

What innovative approach could address this?

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

We exist to connect people to what’s important in their lives through friendly, reliable, and lowcost air travel.

To help people manage risk and recover from the hardship of unexpected loss To combine proprietary technological and world-class creative talent to develop computer-animated feature films with memorable character and heartwarming stories that appeal to audiences of all ages

© Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes © Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes

Tensions of purpose to leverage

 Ambitious, but still attainable  Lasting, but not timeless  Constraint, but also a guide  Inspirational, but can be readily transferred to the real world

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07/10/2015

Maybe there is not as much tension between employee motivation, customers, and return…..?

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The challenge: Getting to purpose and strategy 5 (plus one)

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

Strategy is how an organisation creates and sustains economic value

Strategy

Customers’ total willingness to pay Our total cost of inputs

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

WHAT is strategy for execution?

Rebecca’s five strategy questions

• What’s the situation • Where will we compete?

• How will we win (succeed)?

• What’s going to stop us?

• So, what should we do? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

WHAT is strategy for execution?

Rebecca’s five strategy questions  What is the situation • Diagnosis of the strategic situation: Industry; Market, our internal • How will it affect us? Our competitors? Our customers?  Where will we compete (play)?

A. Who are our ideal target customers? And who are NOT? B. What products, services, or solutions should we offer? And what should we NOT? C. How are we delivering this and reaching our customers? And how are we NOT?  How will we succeed (win)?

How will we sustain our competitive advantage? How will we differentiate ourselves?  What’s going to stop us?

What are our top, key challenges?  So, what should we do?

What are our 3-5 top priorities over the next three years?

© Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Do we know what it looks like to succeed?

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Rebecca Homkes

© Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes © Copyright 2015 Rebecca Homkes

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Rebecca Homkes

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Rebecca Homkes

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Clear definition of success : Simple, concrete, finite

Lead preeminence in Space

Vs.

Land a man on the moon and bring him back safely before the end of the decade

NASA Head James Webb and President Kennedy, White House conversation, November 1962 © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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How do you get everyone singing from the same song sheet?

Simplify: Simple tune that everybody can hum Stop lecturing, more discussions: Get them on the same sheet (literally)

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Rebecca Homkes

Simple tune everyone can hum: Happy birthday

Four strategic objectives for the next five years

Source: Donald Sull

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Bach Good news: • 4 strategic objectives BUT: • 3 key transformation initiatives • 4 part declaration of principles • 4 customer service priorities • 5 core beliefs • 8 rules • 9 values • 20 promises to stakeholders • 120 key performance indicators Source: Donald Sull

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Rebecca Homkes

© Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

Stop lecturing

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More discussions

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Rebecca Homkes

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

The question they have:

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Rebecca Homkes

The question they have:

“Tell me what you want, what you really, really, want

(me to do)”

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

Getting to purpose:

 Do we know how we move the needles?  Do you have the clarity of the simple strategy song?  Do you know what it looks like to succeed?  Are your people singing from the same song sheet?  Are you answering the one, critical question all of your distributed leaders desperately want you to answer?

And, Is our answer to the “killer question” YES? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

The only question that matters?

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Rebecca Homkes

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07/10/2015

If your organisation disappeared tomorrow, would anyone care?

Who and why?

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Rebecca Homkes

Making choices is hard;

but isn’t executing a strategy without purpose harder? © Copyright 2015

Rebecca Homkes

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Rebecca Homkes

If not, what are you going to do about it?

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Rebecca Homkes

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