C ONTENTS The Role of the Chief Executive Officer
4
About Strategic Thinking Group
4
Selected Clients
6
Strategy & The Will To Execute™
8
The Driving Forces of Achievement
10
Program Overview
12
What You Will Accomplish
13
Individual STG Service Offerings
28
Think!
“What will we sell, to whom, and where?”
30
Measure!
“Telling the story of your strategy”
Lead!
“No excuses” Leadership
Attack!
“Winning market share by beating customers’ expectations”
Defend!
“Outhinking, outmaneuvering and outperforming your competitors”
31 31 31 32
Observe!
“What in the world is happening around us?”
32
Our Strategy Practitioners
34
3
THE ROLE
OF THE
Chief Executive Officer
future oriented aims at long term survival & growth
D
REAM. THINK. BECOME... three powerful words that describe the management role of a Chief Executive Officer (CEO), as he or she pursues the creation, growth, and
preservation of wealth for his or her organization. Management in this sense, as someone once observed, “...is truly the most creative of all arts, since the medium
is human talent itself ”.
able to tell a story abstract thinker
Creating an organization in which the people have both the ability and the bounded freedom to dream, think, and become greater than they thought possible, is the hallmark of true leadership. In order to create this type of organization, a CEO must have a range of characteristics and skills that he is able to bring to the organization.
intuitive
First, he always considers the future as an important dimension of management time. He frequently reminds his people to think about that future and the role of the organization within it.
Second, since the future is less than certain, the CEO is able to operate with less than perfect information. He relies, as Joel Barker 4
tells us, on intuition — the ability to make a decision in the absence of
sees the ‘big picture’
complete information.
Third, as the CEO looks into the future he or she is able to see the “Big Picture” without being confused by the various parts of that picture. All the variables that influence the organization’s strategy are considered and seen in relationship and in proportion, one to the other.
Fourth, the CEO has a capability to understand and incorporate abstract ideas such as the values or basic beliefs that drive the organization. He has the character and strength to ask his organization to internalize those values and use them as a beacon in turbulent times.
Fifth, the CEO is able to take all of these concepts about the future and create a clear picture and “story”
Those characteristics are the foundation principles that support our program “Strategy & The Will
STRATEGIC THINKING GROUP
strategy focused program has been used throughout the
S
world with organizations who seek an answer to the
create a customer by crafting, executing and
question “what will we become?”. And the answer to
sustaining their strategic direction. Our business
that question must come from you and your executive
is based on the belief that those organizations
leadership team ... not from an outside strategy
whose CEO and executives have the ability
consultant nor investment banker. The journey to answer
to think and act as if they were in the future
To Execute™”. I welcome you as a CEO or senior executive to review our program and to judge how it can apply, in whole or in part, to your organization. This
that question is never easy... but, then again, that is
trategic Thinking Group is an international group of leading strategy practitioners who assist the Chief
Executive Officer (CEO) of an organization to
– who think strategically – will always have a
why we need a Chief Executive Officer who can lead an
competitive advantage. The Group’s strength
organization to Dream. Think. Become.
lies in our ability to work in partnership with CEOs to instill in their organizations a system
that all the people can understand. He or she is an
of thinking strategically which can be applied in
excellent communicator and spends considerable time
the real world of competition.
thinking about the creation of a positive reputation for the organization.
The Group was founded in 1991. We are one
Sixth, the CEO has a drive to preserve the
of the few professional services firms in the world which guarantees client satisfaction with
organization. Therefore, he is willing to sacrifice short-
our professional services or we will return our
term gain for long term survival and growth. At the end
James B. Haybyrne
of his tenure, there will be something of immense value
Chairman & CEO
to be passed to future generations of management.
Strategic Thinking Group
professional fees. 5
SELECTED C LIENTS
6
In the last analysis management is practice‌ its only authority is performance. P E T E R
F .
D R U C K E R
7
S TRATEGY & T HE WILL TO E XECUTE H ™
8
enry David Thoreau, noted Western writer and thinker, was not a strategist CEO but he understood, long before Nike, that the fundamental essence of life rests not simply in dreams but rather in doing something about those dreams. In a word, execution. Just do it. As he wrote: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
Our experiences as CEOs in business, have taught
Over the years, we thought about the issue of strategy
Martin Seligman, a noted cognitive psychologist,
us the value of the execution of ideas; that without
execution and the difficulty people have in executing
researched this dimension to organizational success.
execution those ideas are merely unformed intentions
their ideas. And as a result, we developed an approach
In studies of achievement of individuals and
held in check by fear. While we always talk about
that we call Strategy & The Will To Execute™. It came
organizations he found that aptitude (I am able to do
doing something, we are simultaneously afraid of doing
about simply because we found that too many people in
it), coupled with motivation (I want to do it), does not
something. The author Sidney J. Harris, wrote: “Our
leadership positions had reasons or excuses as to why they
necessarily lead to sustainable success unless you have
own dilemma is that we hate to change yet love it at the
were never able to achieve their goals.
the third dimension, optimism (I believe I will do it).
same time; what we really want is for things to remain the same but get better.” But we all know that things never seem to get better
It’s no wonder that when Robert Kaplan of Harvard business school studied strategy execution, he found the following unsettling results:
unless we are willing to change and we have the discipline and optimism to change: to execute our ideas.
Q
their organization’s strategy.
We are certain that most of our CEO colleagues will agree that the purpose of the execution of a business strategy
Q
is to create and retain customers. Without customers there will never be the “beloved” shareholder value. And yet CEOs realize that success does not come about
95% of a typical workforce do not understand
Q
Individuals who scored lower in aptitude, yet very high on optimism generally would outperform those with higher aptitude but with less confidence in their own ability to “make it happen”. Furthermore, David McClellan in his landmark book, “The Achieving Society”, found through research that
85% of executives spend less than one hour per
achievement oriented organizations are comprised
month discussing strategy.
of achievement oriented individuals. And both the
And a staggering 90% of organizations surveyed failed to execute their strategy.
organization and individuals within it followed 5 ideas or principles of achievement:
just by thinking and talking about the changing needs of customers. Rather success comes from the ability to
So why is it so difficult to execute and why all the
successfully execute the strategy and get things done
excuses? Two words come to mind: discipline and
-- the ability to link strategy, leadership and performance
optimism. The discipline side of business is simply the
-- the three essential elements of strategy execution.
ability of a senior executive team, the leaders of the
But success often eludes us. We struggle to communicate our strategy and so often lack the discipline to prioritize our efforts. Oftentimes our mindset or culture allows us to drift away from achievement, fearing its demands. We always have an excuse why we didn’t execute our dreams.
organization, to stay focused on the things that have the greatest impact on the overall success of the organization, to not lose interest as time goes by. The optimistic side of business is the culture of the organization, a fundamental belief that people can achieve what they have set out to achieve. Without that sense of optimism it is difficult for any organization to execute a strategy, even if they have the discipline to do so.
9
First, they had an extraordinary preoccupation
Fourth, they were moderate risk takers. And
with excellence. Everything they did was driven by a
when they had taken that moderate risk and successfully
sense of being the best at what they did. No shortcuts.
achieved their goals, they raised the bar higher, repeating
Just excellence.
this process in a disciplined way that enabled them to
Second, they had a belief in cause and effect
grow and sustain their business.
thinking. They understood how their organization
Fifth, they were always looking for feedback. Ed
worked and the relationship between individual
Koch, former Mayor of New York would constantly ask
performance and organizational success. They made
his fellow New Yorkers: “How am I doing?” And so
decisions, not in isolation, but rather within a full
achievers had good performance measurement systems
understanding of how their organization operated in
both at the organizational level, such as the balanced
a business environment. They were able to “connect
scorecard, and good, regularly reviewed individual
the dots.”
performance appraisal systems and culture measurements.
THE D RIVING FORCES
OF
Achievement
So when you review Robert Kaplan’s statistics and you look at your own colleagues around the boardroom table saying, “we have a strategy”, remember, that is only part of the game. Ask yourself whether you have the discipline and the optimism to seize the moment. If you don’t, your great strategy may simply be the beginning of a long rut. And a rut, as Alan Lampkin reminds us, is simply a grave with no ends.
Third, each individual believed that their effort “counted” within the organization and they had the control to set their own goals and possessed the ability to achieve those goals. 10
1
A pre-occupation with success
5
A desire for feedback
4
A moderate level of risk taking
2
A belief in cause & effect thinking
3
A belief that “My� effort counts and I can set my own goals
11
STRATEGY & THE WILL TO EXECUTE™ P ROGRAM O VERVIEW
12
1. Crafting The Strategy
16
2. Capturing The Strategy
17
3. Measuring The Strategy
18
4. Assessing The Will To Execute
19
5. Organizing Strategy Execution
20
6. Leading Strategy Execution
21
7. Communicating The Strategy
22
8. Developing The Will To Execute
23
9. Cascading The Strategy
24
10. Tracking Execution
25
Lessons Learned
26
Time Chart
27
WHAT YOU WILL ACCOMPLISH
Clear operational battle plans that focus your team’s energies on launching or relaunching the products and services critical to the success your strategy
A constructive culture and the application of leadership skills which empower people to deliver the results demanded by the strategy
A Strategic Scorekeeping System to assist you in managing the execution of the strategy
A strategic intelligence system in place that allows you to monitor change Analysis of competitors’ moves in the market place and plans to counter attack
A clear strategy to create and serve a customer in order to make money 13
If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them. T H O R E A U
E CONOMIC BATTLEFIELD
C OPY R IGH T © JA M E S B . H AY BY R N E
S T R AT E G I C C A PA B I L I T I E S
S U P P O R T C A PA B I L I T I E S
A T TA C K C A PA B I L I T I E S
FU T U R E PO SIT IONS
1 C RAFTING THE STRATEGY We will craft the strategy and identify strategic offensive and defensive positions.
S TA G E I
S TA G E I I
S TA G E I I I
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT
CRAFT YOUR STRATEGY
STRATEGIC POSITIONS
Q
Strategic thinking principles and
Q
techniques to craft an agreed strategy Q
16
Q
position for the business: products/ Q
Q
Identify critical issues and clear future priorities
Decide strategic offensive and defensive positions
services, customers, markets
Agree the strategic assessment pre-work to be completed by participants
Create a clear future strategic end
Plan Battles of the Strong and Battles of the Weak to execute strategy
2 CAPTURING THE STRATEGY We will capture our strategy in a clear, well written “story� of what we will look like when we have achieved our strategic positions. This story will build a common understanding of what needs to be executed and the direction, investment, and development of all markets. The CEO will be interviewed by our journalist, and/or your public relations advisor, who will then write a newspaper article, as if it were the end of the strategic timeframe when his or her organization has successfully completed its journey.
17
3 MEASURING THE STRATEGY We will define key metrics that we will use to ensure that we are successfully executing our strategy. Using our proven methodologies, the executive team will design a Balanced Scorecard which measures the organization’s performance from 4 critical perspectives. This links business performance measurement to strategy, showing cause/effect relationships and gives the leadership team a navigational tool to assess their progress on the battlefield as they execute their strategy.
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4 ASSESSING THE WILL TO EXECUTE Do we have the will to execute? We will measure our desired culture and our current culture. We will analyze where are our biggest gaps, and how we will close them. Strategy execution cannot be successfully initiated unless it is viewed as urgent, particularly by those at the top of the organization. Sharing data with key internal stakeholders (top managers, the next level of managers, and others who can directly impact the success of strategy execution efforts) is important for a number of reasons: Q
It can enhance the breadth and clarity with which execution problems are defined.
Q
It can increase understanding of, support for, and commitment to executing the strategy.
Q
It also provides an opportunity to identify those stakeholders who are willing to define and lead strategy execution.
19
5 O RGANIZING STRATEGY EXECUTION We will select and bring together a coalition of key people, which includes our executive leadership team, who have great influence over key parts and levels of our organization. They will guide the execution of our strategy and we will give them the tools and authority to get on with the job. Strategy execution can be achieved through improving existing structures, systems, processes, behaviors, skills or conditions or by making fundamental changes to the organization. Predetermination of how strategy execution will be conducted and managed enables those responsible for the change process to consider and obtain necessary resources and commitments.
20
6 LEADING STRATEGY EXECUTION We will assess, debrief and develop our new leadership skills at the senior executive level to execute our strategy. Leadership impacts culture. Effective modeling is essential to building trust and credibility, but requires that leaders have the courage to first make changes in their own behavior that will communicate their personal commitment to the strategy. Therefore, the current leadership impact on the culture or mindset of the organization will be assessed. A debrief of the leadership assessment results will be conducted for the executive team, from which they will understand their leadership styles, and how others perceive them in terms of these styles. These assessments improve professional effectiveness in the areas of task accomplishment and relations with others: two key dimensions of successful leaders.
21
7 C OMMUNICATING THE STRATEGY We will develop and execute a communication plan which will ensure that key stakeholders understand our strategy as evidenced by the successful execution of priority issues. One of the main purposes of communicating the strategy is to build widespread understanding and support. In turn, building a consensus requires encouraging feedback on the strategy. While some of the feedback may be negative and suggest modifications, a revised strategy, accepted by a majority of the organization’s members, will be more effective in producing desired changes than one that is not supported.
22
8 D EVELOPING THE WILL TO EXECUTE The Cycle Of Success- Developing The Will To Execute: We will define and improve our group and individual thinking styles in order to better execute our strategy.
C YC L E O F S U CC E S S
Which leads to more self confidence and higher goal setting
Which leads to positive feedback
A belief that I control my destiny
Leads to positive “self talk”
This stage of the program focuses on organizational change as to better allow the efficient execution of the organization’s strategy. The highly interactive 2 day program identifies
Which leads to high levels achievement
Leads to positive self image
what factors drive the organization towards, or hold it back from executing the strategy. The customized program aims to promote and enhance forces that allow the strategy to be executed in the most effective and efficient way, and decrease detrimental forces, by creating a constructive culture.
Creating a sense of urgency to “solve” how to achieve goals
Positive self image leads to high levels of goal setting
23
9 CASCADING THE STRATEGY We will then cascade the Cycle of Success by developing strategy execution facilitators to guide the roll out of the strategy. We will choose people based on defined selection criteria to become strategy execution facilitators. They will undergo the 3-5 day STG program where they will be coached on how to teach the Cycle of Success. They will develop an organizational plan to roll out the strategy under the direction of the coalition of key people. These strategy execution facilitators will monitor the progress of the Cycle of Success program by holding quarterly review sessions.
24
10 TRACKING EXECUTION We will have regular ‘Meetings of the Mind’ to track progress to plan, making the necessary changes to improve performance and transfer that knowledge to every level. Monitoring the strategy execution and encouraging feedback provides the basis for refining goals, strategies, and timetables. Feedback can also indicate which unit-level strategies should be institutionalized and what additional changes are needed for execution to be successful at the organizational level. Feedback on the execution process will almost always suggest modifications or refinements to the process or to the major themes or initiatives of the strategy. Continually monitoring the progress made during the execution process makes it possible to identify, recognize, and reward success. In turn, visible recognition and rewards reinforce the strategy, communicate quick wins, and help to build and maintain momentum.
25
LESSONS LEARNED Has everything happened that we wanted to happen? What did we learn? How will we apply those lessons to our next phase of improving performance? The execution of the strategy will be evaluated to ascertain whether it produced the desired results and to document the lessons learned. The things that the organization did right, as well as the things that could have been done better, should be identified and documented to guide future learning and adaptation. Mechanisms will be established to maintain the gains realized from the organizational change processes and to promote future learning and adaptation. This puts the organization in a better position to successfully meet the demands of its external environment. Since most external environments change continually, so must organizations be able to continue to change. Based on the lessons learned, mechanisms should be established to ensure that the organization continues to be responsive to changes in the environment. 26
NOW THE JOURNEY BEGINS AGAIN...
TIME C HART STEPS
D AT E C O M P L E T E D
1
We will craft the strategy and identify strategic offensive and defensive positions.
M O N T H S 1- 3
2
We will capture our strategy in a clear, well written “story” of what we will look like when we have achieved our strategic positions. This story will build a common understanding of what needs to be executed and the direction, investment, and development of all markets.
MONTH 3
3
We will define key metrics that we will use to ensure that we are successfully executing our strategy.
MONTH 4
4
Do we have the will to execute? We will measure our desired culture and our current culture. We will analyze where are our biggest gaps, and how we will close them.
MONTH 5
5
We will select and bring together a coalition of key people, which includes our executive leadership team, who have great influence over key parts and levels of our organization. They will guide the execution of our strategy and we will give them the tools and authority to get on with the job.
MONTH 6
6
We will assess, debrief and develop our new leadership skills at the senior executive level to execute our strategy.
MONTH 7
7
We will develop and execute a communication plan which will ensure that key stakeholders understand our strategy as evidenced by the successful execution of priority issues.
MONTH 8
8
The Cycle Of Success - Developing The Will To Execute: We will define and improve our group and individual thinking styles in order to better execute our strategy.
M O N T H 10
9
We will then cascade the Cycle of Success by developing strategy execution facilitators to guide the roll out of the strategy.
M O N T H 12
10
We will have regular ‘Meetings of the Mind’ to track progress to plan, making the necessary changes to improve performance and transfer that knowledge to every level. Has everything happened that we wanted to happen? What did we learn? How will we apply those lessons to our next phase of improving performance?
Q U A R T E R LY FROM MONTH 6
MONTH 24
27
INDIVIDUAL STG SERVICE O FFERINGS We recognize that not all clients need our full “Strategy & The Will to Execute™.” For example, you may already have completed some key points of the journey to strategy execution or you may wish to focus on a particular area. We can help. Our services have been designed to be stand alone as well as be a part of the whole Strategy & The Will to Execute™ program. Please refer to the following individual programs for which we will provide details including how the programs are organized and conducted.
28
7 STEPS TO A SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTED STRATEGY
C OPY R IGH T © JA M E S B . H AY BY R N E
Craft
“What will we sell, to whom, and where?”
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Think!
Strategy Development Process
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BENEFIT TO YOUR BUSINESS: a competitive advantage!
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Strategic Thinking Group’s Strategy Development Process empowers your company with a sustainable strategy supported by “battlefield” operating principles to execute the strategy. We provide the thinking roadmap, you make the journey. Our strategic thinking process will
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allow your company to: Q
Develop a clear strategy to create a customer
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Achieve strategic positions: market share, revenue, profitability
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Execute critical organizational changes
Q
Assign accountability for results
Q
Obtain commitment for execution
Q
Speak a common language about your future business
Execute “Telling the story of your strategy”
Measure!
The Balanced Scorecard BENEFIT TO YOUR BUSINESS: a focus on future revenue! Q
You focus on creating value for your shareholders by
Lead!
“No Excuses!” Leadership BENEFIT TO YOUR BUSINESS: your strategy executed by ordinary people achieving extraordinary results! LEADERSHIP Q
Leadership styles are assessed
Q
Leadership skills developed aimed at improving individual and group leadership effectiveness
knowing how to create value for your customers Q
Your employees understand your strategy
CULTURE
Q
You are able to identify sources of future revenues
Q
Q
Links strategy to tactics
Q
Acts as the measurable basis for building and
Your organization’s current culture and its readiness to execute strategy is assessed and analyzed
Q
The vision of your organization’s desired culture (what it wants to be) is compared to the current
leading a performance-based culture
culture (what it is). Q
Q
The levers for cultural change are identified
“Winning market share by beating customers’ expectations”
Attack!
Product Launch BENEFIT TO YOUR BUSINESS: a loyal customer!
(structure, systems, technologies, skills)
Q
Clarify product positioning
Action plans are developed to manage the changes to
Q
Define the market
a more performance-based culture.
Q
Formulate a marketing strategy
Q
Conduct competitor analysis
Q
Execute development
Q
Building operations/production plan
Q
Perform financial projections
“No excuses! Executing your strategy through a performancebased culture”
31
Sustain
Observe!
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Defend!
BENEFIT TO YOUR BUSINESS: an ability to anticipate the future! Q
Create a strategic intelligence system which constantly monitors the world around you to track
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changes which may affect your strategy.
Competitor Insight
Q
Improve your ability to manage your response to inevitable change
BENEFIT YOUR BUSINESS: a surprised competitor!
Q
Identify threats and opportunities
Protect your key product/customer/markets
Q
Avoid surprises from the outside world
by anticipating a competitor’s attack.
Q
Gain competitive advantage by decreasing your reaction time to events
Prevent competitors from: Q
Stealing your customers!
Q
Blocking your entry into new markets!
Q
Surprising you with new
Q
Better understand your own company in relation to changing competitive and industry forces and industry forces
products/ideas! Q
Changing the rules of the game!
“Outthinking, outmaneuvering and outperforming your competitors” 32
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“What in the world is happening around us?”
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat. T H E O D O R E 2 3
R O O S E V E LT
J U N E
1 9 1 0
O UR STRATEGY P RACTITIONERS OUR DIRECTORS ARE : Trusted Senior Advisors with formidable business experience who assist CEOs to develop and execute a strategic direction Using a process that is a catalyst for enormous change
OUR DIRECTORS PROVIDE : Relationship-based
Trustworthy Consistent and confidential strategic counsel
Which produces results
34