Yang Guo’s Post

SMART objectives benefit business planning by providing clear, measurable, and time-bound goals. They enhance decision-making, accountability, focus, and team motivation. By setting specific, achievable targets, businesses can better align their strategies and track progress effectively. https://lnkd.in/d_6npfvN

3 Strategies for Working ON the Business, Not Just IN It

Overcome 5 Hurdles to Smoothly Start Your Strategy Work As a business team, recognizing the need for strategy is crucial, yet finding the right steps to initiate it can be challenging. In our practice, we observe five common obstacles that can hold back entire business management teams. There are actionable remedies to navigate them effectively. 1. Misconception of Purpose Viewing strategy merely as a planning exercise can obscure its true purpose. Data compilations, SWOT matrixes and action plans are not a result. Instead, shift the focus to the guiding strategy question: Which capabilities and resources should the business invest in to achieve superior sustained margins. Start collecting ideas to this question. It will become clear to the team how creative strategy work can be. This shift of perspective can ignite energy and creativity. 2. Dodging Differences of Opinion There are good reasons to fear that endless debates about strategy derail immediate business priorities and strain working relationships. Initiate small-scale, informal brainstorming discussions to build the experience and confidence that the exchange of ideas works constructively. Speak about ways to explore and test the ideas. 3. Empty Driver’s Seat The complexity of strategy can deter leadership of process. The steppingstone for strategic leadership is to demand an answer to the strategy question. With this focus on outcomes, the process can evolve experientially. Use the strategy question as a "north star" to guide ongoing business decisions and encourage fact-finding. List assumptions that you make, break them down into inquiries to test.  4. Decision Avoidance   Tactical problems, appearing to be on well-known terrain, may look easier to solve. Dealing with the trade-offs that strategy decisions involve, may generate insecurity. Like vertigo on a mountain trip, this can drain energy and even stifle the team. Adopting the mountain-guide approach of overcoming vertigo. Stabilize the horizon of your view by looking far out to a long-time scenario then fixate a median perspective: How can our business look like when we will command of superior margin? Then reflect on the 3-year horizon - what will have changed by then. Going back and forth with these perspectives will stabilize the team´s sense of control and encourage bolder decision-making. 5. Lack of Motivation to Contribute Team members might feel overwhelmed by additional tasks of strategy work and do not see any rewards for contributing ideas. Highlight the impact of individual contributions. Demonstrate how every idea, even if not chosen, plays a role in shaping strategic options, so creating meaning for engagement. Conclusion: Do these hurdles resonate with your experience? Share obstacles you have faced in starting a strategy process. #strategyprocess #overcomehurdles

Today we close Module 2 of the Award in Leading a Family Business accredited course. Today's last session is a tutorial based on a case study of a family business which is at crossroads as to what strategic decision it needs to take, to keep growing. This 2nd module was all about strategy. It covered the importance for family businesses to:- Have a strategic mindset and not rely only on an operator's mindset How to undergo a process of strategic planning How to implement strategies and business transformation within the background of constant change. Click on the below link to read more about the essential elements to implement change and business transformation:- https://lnkd.in/epmxYpMy May I remind you, that the 2nd cohort of the Award in Leading a Family Business course will now start in February 2024. This is a fully accredited course at MQF level 5 and the only one of its kind, fully directed and setup at helping present and future family business owners and leaders and enabling their business to be run more professionally and perform better. Click on the below link for more details on this accredited course and to REGISTER. Our team we also help you get any required funding for such course. https://lnkd.in/d2sJCYfQ

Mastering Strategic Planning: Five Steps to Success Strategic planning is the backbone of any successful business. Many organizations, however, struggle to execute it effectively. Leaders often underestimate the complexity and need for a structured approach. This misstep leads to plans that fail to align with the long-term vision. Without a clear strategy, businesses risk falling behind competitors, missing market opportunities, and wasting valuable resources. To thrive, understanding and implementing the critical steps of strategic planning is essential. 1️⃣ Set Clear Objectives Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. Ensure these objectives align with your company's vision and mission, providing a clear direction for all teams. 2️⃣ Conduct Thorough Market Analysis Gather competitive intelligence to understand market dynamics. Identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT analysis). This analysis helps in making informed decisions and anticipating market shifts. 3️⃣ Develop Strategic Initiatives Create actionable plans addressing key business challenges. Prioritize initiatives based on their potential impact and feasibility, ensuring resources are allocated to the most critical areas. 4️⃣ Implement and Execute Efficiently Allocate resources effectively and establish accountability. Use project management tools to track progress and stay on schedule. Regularly communicate progress to keep the team aligned and motivated. 5️⃣ Monitor and Adjust Continuously Regularly review performance against strategic goals. Be prepared to pivot and adapt strategies in response to changing conditions. Flexibility ensures the strategy remains relevant and effective in dynamic environments. Ready to refine your strategic planning process? ☑ Schedule a dedicated strategy session with your leadership team. ☑ Align on key objectives, gather critical market insights, and develop a robust plan for the future. ☑ Consistent review and adaptation will keep your strategy on track and your business ahead of the curve. #Strategy #Leadership #ActionableInsights #CompetitiveIntelligence #StrategicPlanning #BusinessGrowth #MarketAnalysis #LeadershipDevelopment Transform your strategic planning with intelligence-driven insights to foresee market changes and stay ahead of the competition. Visit us at Actelligos.com or reach us at insights@actelligos.com Check out more ideas at bit.ly/OnCompetitiveness

Exploring the complexities of strategy in business can be quite enlightening! One point that really stood out to me is the idea that a Strategy Director can "own the process" rather than the strategy itself. It's interesting to think about how this role could significantly alleviate the pressure on CEOs, especially in a scaling business. What do you think about having a dedicated individual for managing strategy processes? Is it a necessary investment for growth, or can teams manage this effectively on their own? https://lnkd.in/ez4c3yQc Boardroom Advisors: Part-Time CEOs MDs NEDs for Scale-Ups and SME's.

𝗖-𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗿𝗮𝗿𝘆. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗻? Michael Porter suggests 3 generic strategies that you can focus your business model on: 𝟭. 𝗖𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽. 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮. 𝗗𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟯. 𝗙𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 Here are a few clarifying questions that will help you choose. 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: What's more important: having the right people or having well-established processes? Which resonates more with you: reaching a mass market to cover as many people as possible or focusing on a niche market? If your company suddenly got unique procurement prices, would you lower the price of your end product to gain a competitive edge? Would you say that price is the main criterion for choosing your product? Do you believe that the key to business is the optimization of costs? Can lawyers, accountants, or IT professionals determine how client engagement processes should be structured? Reflect on the above and rate from 0 to 10, your desire to create a mass product, aiming for low prices and highly optimized processes. 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲: What appeals to you more: achieving unique feats that amaze people or maintaining predictable stability? How significant a part of your cost sticker should design/project development be? How often do you plan to review and improve your production technology (in the broadest sense)? Are you willing to hire specialists who cost significantly more than the market rate? Should customer opinions be considered when developing projects? How open is your company to compromises regarding what it produces? Review the above and rate from 0 to 10, your aspiration to create exclusive, high-quality products, aiming for the best results, regardless of expenses. 𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗖𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: Are you willing to invest more in service and support than in the product itself? How thoroughly do you plan to study your target audience? Are you ready to establish a dedicated department for analyzing customer feedback and turning it into initiatives for product improvement? Would you align production and marketing with such a department? Do you understand the need for an in-house training center to prepare specialists for your business? Would you terminate an employee who is a single mother if she was rude to a customer? Reflect on the above and score from 0 to 10, how much you want to build a project based on principles of radical business alignment with customer interests.

Odds are you have read a book or watched a presentation where the concepts of a “strategy” and a “plan” are conflated or used interchangeably. I recently viewed a post where someone defined a strategy as consisting of inputs and an output, the output being revenue and the inputs being a set of actions. This definition leans far closer to that of a plan. If we look at many integrated financial reports of JSE-listed companies, their “strategic direction” is a very clear plan, not a strategy. We should be very careful when people start adding “strategic” before a word. It's most likely not strategic at all. So… Why should we care about distinguishing the two? Because a strategy involves uncertainty and uncontrollable factors, while a plan involves certainty and controllable factors. A strategy is an integrative set of choices intended to position your business on a playing field, compelling customers to take action which helps you progress relative to your rivals.* A strategy must be coherent and doable, while plans don't have to be coherent at all. While a plan is a set of activities that include inputs and desired outputs, which the business commits finite resources to execute. Yes, a plan is part of execution and execution is critical to realising a strategy, but they're fundamentally different. Side note: When I queried the logic of the recent post, someone replied saying that we don't have to be so intentional about the meaning of the words; it's purely academic. I believe this mindset is why so many teams are misguided because management is not consistent which causes confusion and different interpretations. Meaning is critical if we are to create clarity for teams. *I've taken Roger Martin’s definitions and tweaked them slightly - see his video in the comments.

Being tactical about strategy or strategic about strategy? This morning I saw this post from Svyatoslav Biryulin - he offers GREAT ADVICE - "We need a strategy to reach agreements in our team" - wise words for any level in our organisations. And "Invest as much time as necessary in clarifying your strategy. " More here - https://lnkd.in/eijBV2AC A tactical approach to avoid team members enthusiastically pulling the company in different directions is a good starting point. Where your strategy is not complex - i.e. it doesn't require cross functional collaboration or great expense or resourcing, it doesn't need a lot of leadership time, is (relatively!) not risky - and can be easily prioritised with our BAU, Change and Value Creation workloads - we can - as leaders - closely drive strategy delivery with good collaboration. But when do we need to start to become more strategic about being strategic? I guess it depends on our growth and situation. We love to work creatively with our co-founders. There's a buzz to it, but at some point - trust me - there will come a time when directors/managers need to flip from being completely entrepreneurial to being more systematic - and that extends from the strategic process to the process of balancing workloads between performance for today, the journey to tomorrow, and the investment in the future. While we (in some cases slowly) realise this - can we avoid growing into strategic difficulty? The reality is - many of the significant reasons for why strategy does not deliver are not to do with the strategy itself - they are to do with making the implementation happen - e.g. https://lnkd.in/eTtivBze. Moreover, layering/imposing something on top of a mature organisation (with bad habits and unhelpful culture) later is not easy! Do we realise there is a choice about when and how we start to mature strategically? What do I advise? Think BIG, but START by putting in place the BASIC mechanisms to make strategy delivery just another element of your business. Start simple and grow your strategic culture and operation. After all - it seems sensible to be strategic about strategy. What do you think? "Hope" we all go the same way - or "engineer" it? 1. Read the summary and purpose of Business Integrated Governance here - https://lnkd.in/e-Kqv--q 2. Join the community - https://lnkd.in/gmGPZRk 3. Contact me to explore further....

Revolutionizing Business Strategy: A Call for CEOs and Senior Leaders In today's corporate world, a CEO's success hinges on creating strategies for sustainable EBITDA. The key is simplicity, shifting away from complex, unused methods like lengthy PowerPoint decks. The Strategy Dilemma Strategy faces three main challenges in organizations: misunderstanding, complexity, and rigidity. 1. Misunderstanding Despite extensive discussion, strategic thinking remains an elusive concept, often seen as exclusive to top executives. This disconnect prevents effective strategy use at all levels, missing opportunities for profitability. 2. Overcomplexity Strategy's true purpose has been obscured by its evolution into a complex mix of reports and presentations, moving away from its core - making critical decisions about products, markets, and capabilities. 3. Static Many companies suffer from a static strategy approach, hindering agility and responsiveness to market changes. Successful firms, however, view strategy as a flexible tool, continuously adapting to external factors. The solution lies in redefining strategy and having to that promote: Strategy as Decision Making: It should align with everyday decision-making, propelling the company forward. Empowering through Strategy: Strategy must empower employees at all levels, especially those on the front lines. Dynamic and Agile: Strategy needs to be flexible, allowing for adjustments in response to the market. Adopting a simplified, dynamic approach to strategy is crucial for better, predictable profitability. CEOs and leaders must move past outdated models, embracing a practical, decision-centric strategy. This shift is not just a change in methodology but a fundamental paradigm shift in business strategy.