Speaker 2: usually ask that because they kind of assume that they know what execution is, it's about turning the ideas or the thinking that goes into a strategy into action. Um So I'd say it's it's kind of where the rubber hits the road. A strategy, in my view if I had to give you a one line definition of it, I wouldn't say it's a plan. I'd say it's a framework for decision making. A (Time 0:10:13)
Note: Strategy is a framework for decision making
Speaker 2: I think that there are four conditions that have to be fulfilled for you two need a strategy in the first place. The first condition is that you need to be trying to realize a determinate goal, not just a general one survival or prosperity, but something specific. You need to have limited resources. You need to be facing some kind of opposition and you need to be in an environment of uncertainty. In other words, you don't know everything you would like to know. And there are four realms or domains of human activity where those conditions generally apply. The first and earliest is in fact warfare, which is why the word strategy comes from the greek word strata goes, which was their name for general. It's the art of the general. The second area is in politics and international relations. And the third area is business um in a, in a market environment, I have to say they are soviet union business and soviet, you didn't need a strategy because you just have plans, right? You don't have any any competition. But in a competitive environment you do. Um, and so people often make the mistake of saying that I'm using the military as a metaphor. I'm not things that happen in the military world, in the business world are either completely different, nothing to do with each other whatsoever or they're identical. And what is identical is that they are two of the three also realms that require strategies. So we can learn a lot about strategic thinking and about how to translate strategy into action from military practice. If we know where to look because it contains examples of the best and by the way, the worst as well. So we better be careful. (Time 0:03:46)
Note: Conditions and realms of strategy
Speaker 2: strategy, in my view if I had to give you a one line definition of it, I wouldn't say it's a plan. I'd say it's a framework for decision making. A strategy tells people within the organization how to make decisions ideally it should enable them to make independent decisions without asking any more questions. Not many of them actually achieve that come back to why in a, in a few minutes I suspect they then work out what they should do as a result of this. And so the other way, when you're, when you're in your strategy is invisible, right? It's it's maybe written down somewhere, there is, but actually it's in people's heads, but it has to be turned into action and when an organization has got a good strategy and it's actually executing it, it enables it to undertake thoughtful purpose of action, organizations are terribly good at generating activity, but a lot of it is sort of brownie emotional rights unless you get them anywhere. Action is activity plus movement trajectory, it changes their position in the competitive landscape, so it has to be purposes because it's got this determinant goal that is trying to achieve and it has to be thoughtful because the situation is dynamic, it's constantly changing and so what they decided to do six months ago in this particular department may not be applicable anymore, it's better to do something else now and they must be ready to a change, you're both fixed on achieving this goal, this aim and at the same time very flexible about how you do (Time 0:10:31)
Note: Strategy execution
Speaker 2: people's heads, but it has to be turned into action and when an organization has got a good strategy and it's actually executing it, it enables it to undertake thoughtful purpose of action, organizations are terribly good at generating activity, but a lot of it is sort of brownie emotional rights unless you get them anywhere. Action is activity plus movement trajectory, it changes their position in the competitive landscape, so it has to be (Time 0:11:09)
Note: Execution = activity + movement
Speaker 2: because it's got this determinant goal that is trying to achieve and it has to be thoughtful because the situation is dynamic, it's constantly changing and so what they decided to do six months ago in this particular department may not be applicable anymore, it's better to do something else now and they must be ready to a change, you're both fixed on achieving this goal, this aim and at the same time very flexible about how you do it. And that's one of the paradoxes of of strategy, it's it's full of things like that, that is (Time 0:11:40)
Note: Paradox of strategy: fixed in the goal, flexible in how to achieve it. Other paradox: high on alignment AND high on autonomy. People should independently be able to make decisions according to the strategy.
Speaker 2: thing we've done, I've done this. I know this was a client at the moment, actually they're formulating this statement of intent and the way we've done it is to say, okay, this is what we're trying to achieve and why. And then we've got a series of what's called guiding principles. So we've created a framework for decision making and the way we did it is to make a statement about what we thought the future would be like compared with the present. And then we have said we've written the way therefore we will and we make a positive statement about what we're going to do. But this is it's then followed by and not, and we make a statement about what we're not going to do. In other words, to make sure that we made a choice and that people know what the choice means. It's not just blah de blah. Right? Um you know that customers are going to get more important and not product. Oh, actually where a product or into a company and you're saying we have to be customers. So I now start to think about what that means to me. We have to give them what they want, not we what we happen to want to push Speaker 1: your actually adding context Speaker 2: by I'm adding context and I'm saying this is the world we're leaving behind. If you don't understand the positive statement, read the negative statement and then the Penny will drop about what these otherwise bland looking words actually mean. (Time 0:35:27)
Note: Stating intent - guiding policy
Speaker 2: No, well actually I try and make these things as simple as possible and I think I would sum up this approach in two songs. The first song comes from the Spice Girls Wannabe and this is something you should do, tell me what you want, what you really, really want. And the second one is frank Sinatra. I did it my way. No, I do not think that everybody has to do it your way, brief them and let them brief you back and think about how you can support them to do it their way. So bottom line, closing strap line, remember the Spice Girls Forgets frank Sinatra, (Time 0:37:17)
Note: Tell me what you really really want and let them do it their way