Beyond the Big Bang: Strategy as Habit - The Diigo Meta page

• 14 Apr 09
  

  Bertrand Duperrin

  Instead of strategy as Big Bang, what about strategy as Habit? ALL organizations require strategic thinking to succeed, but few organizations actually face the dramatic moment -- ever, or certainly very often. If that is true, then the sweet spot for strategy is something more routine, more "everyman", more evolutionary, more of a living process. Strategy as Habit has 2 components, in keeping with the 2 primary definitions of the word "habit": (1) a regular practice and (2) a long, loose garment worn by a member of a religious order. (In case you've forgotten that second definition: picture here). Strategic thinking is a recurrent, involuntary action. Our strategy is both a content statement and a style statement, both of which define and identify our team. Strategy is participative. Strategy has structure without being overly constrictive.

  strategy staff mckinsey 7S socialenterprise people peoplecentrism structure skills sharedvalues values style systems humanresources talentmanagement talent

  • When we adjust the original diagram a bit, you start to see that the secret to strategy success -- both IMPLEMENTATION and EVOLUTION -- is fundamentally the staff.
  • The founding strategy may not start with the people, but its implementation and all subsequent strategy evolutions are hugely influenced by the people. They are the ones, after all, who design the business systems, develop their skills, train each other, shape shared values daily, and project the culture's style to thousands of customers every day.  They watch competitors on the street, and they listen to prospects who've declined proposals.  In all but the smallest organizations, the CEO's ability to drive the details of strategy execution in all these areas around the company is practically nil. 

Would you like to comment?

Join Diigo for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.