The Right Strategy, Part 3
In The Right Strategy, Part 1, we looked at the situation of the newly hired coach whose charge is to build a team that is a perpetual winner. Assuming that the two most important things a coach can manipulate are the team's talent and the system under which they play, we described four possible strategies: Talent Driven, System Driven, Competitive Talent Driven and Competitive System Driven. In Part 2, I asserted that there is no absolute right strategy. There is, rather, a right ownership-coach fit, analogous to a board and CEO fit.
There are, however, strategies that are more or less likely to succeed. But we cannot discuss how to succeed without first discussing how to measure success. As Yogi Berra said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
Specific, measurable criteria for success are a key element of any strategy. Consider the opening sentence from President John F. Kennedy’s speech entitled “Special Message To Congress On Urgent National Needs” delivered in 1961: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." He then went on to outline the space strategy for the next decade. From the start, he left no room for confusion about how to measure the success of this strategy. The result of this audacious clarity propelled the nation on a course to success.
Recall our coach whose goal is to build a team that is a perpetual winner. What exactly would a perpetual winner look like? Have a winning record every year? Get to the finals every year? Win the championship every year? Our coach needs to know what the owner means by "perpetual winner." Only then can he can present cost-time tradeoffs and get buy-in on "the best strategy" to achieve the goal.
This can be an iterative process. The vision stays fixed, e.g. "a perpetual winner." The mission -- how to move towards the vision over the next few years -- depends upon the ownership's appetite for cost-time tradeoffs and other considerations. Crafting a mission that ownership and management agree to is therefore the essential step to selecting the "best strategy."
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning
There are, however, strategies that are more or less likely to succeed. But we cannot discuss how to succeed without first discussing how to measure success. As Yogi Berra said, "You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there."
Specific, measurable criteria for success are a key element of any strategy. Consider the opening sentence from President John F. Kennedy’s speech entitled “Special Message To Congress On Urgent National Needs” delivered in 1961: "I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth." He then went on to outline the space strategy for the next decade. From the start, he left no room for confusion about how to measure the success of this strategy. The result of this audacious clarity propelled the nation on a course to success.
Recall our coach whose goal is to build a team that is a perpetual winner. What exactly would a perpetual winner look like? Have a winning record every year? Get to the finals every year? Win the championship every year? Our coach needs to know what the owner means by "perpetual winner." Only then can he can present cost-time tradeoffs and get buy-in on "the best strategy" to achieve the goal.
This can be an iterative process. The vision stays fixed, e.g. "a perpetual winner." The mission -- how to move towards the vision over the next few years -- depends upon the ownership's appetite for cost-time tradeoffs and other considerations. Crafting a mission that ownership and management agree to is therefore the essential step to selecting the "best strategy."
Copyright © 2007 Philip Bookman
Technorati: Business Strategy, Strategic Planning
posted by Phil Bookman at 10:27 AM
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