Create an Advantage While Confronting Uncertainties
In my last post (via video), I spoke about the three crises we’ve lived through over the past 20 years. We can now determine that they each had five common challenges.
The challenge I mentioned previously was the need to have a greater connection between the strategy and the people in the organization.
Today, I want to summarize the other four without commentary. They are:
1. Business units and individuals start to work at cross purposes — an indication of misalignment.
2. Process and technological improvements are optimized based on a past strategy, not the current one.
3. People below the C-suite have little (if any) passion for the strategy.
4. Strategy execution is haphazard, largely due to #3 above, plus gaps in capabilities.
These persistent challenges, along with fragmentation, have dominated business these past 20 years. We now appreciate how deep-rooted they are. It’s at the point that leaders and managers are used to it.
That can no longer stand in today’s business environment.
Their market position, culture and relationships become vulnerable.
Many companies are finding themselves forced to change.
Recent research by McKinsey and other sources reveals that senior leaders are making their job all about sorting through priorities. Indeed!
I focus on companies in various states of transformation, working on their resilience muscle, all the while trying to lean into the changes they ultimately can’t escape.
This screams a need to critically evaluate, align and establish coherence between STRATEGY, CHANGE and RISK. By doing so, you have the advantage of achieving your planned outcomes.
Invariably this demands closer scrutiny of the CAPABILITIES.
I learned a long time ago that capabilities are what distinguish a company.
Capabilities give them the ‘right to win’ in their space.
It demonstrated that only those who strategically choose where they want to play or not have the right to win in their space. Consider the likes of Apple and Pfizer.
A system of capabilities is your engine for creating value. Capabilities are not simply table stakes or activities, like managing the supply chain; it is the ability to deliver a distinctive outcome reliably and consistently.
It also ensures that the right combination of processes, tools, knowledge, skills, and organization all work together coherently to meet those desired outcomes.
Let’s step into today’s C-Suite . . . .
This is where leaders must define what their system of capabilities will be made to achieve — clarifying that is crucial if current challenges are to be resolved and leaders intentionally lean forward into a new future. The success of delivering on C-suite priorities will depend heavily on coherent capabilities.
These are the top C-suite priorities as I understand them:
Build the resilience muscle — we’ve been talking about adapting for over 15 years — now is the time to do that and not simply improve something that may no longer be working.
Summon up the courage to make the changes that will move the business forward — this is a time for shifting mindsets and cultures.
Use technology as a foundation for growth and not its primary engine — Given the many opportunities, it may be time to reinvent the business or create a new vision because the legacy may be a ‘has been’.
New ways to compete — how to communicate and market to your customers have changed dramatically. Leaders must achieve a level of clarity that leaves no doubt as to what their unique advantage is.
Create a differentiated talent pool — A talent pool that combines skills, credentials, and experience. With innovative thinking and mentorship from experienced leaders, you witness a workforce that is excited and filled with purpose.
The C-suite wants their dreams realized . . . . That will take a commitment to a culture shift and a new future. Yes, the future is still uncertain and will remain that way for some time. A shift must start now.
These challenges are not new; we all know that. BUT The approach to resolving them must be.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Many business leaders struggle to align their company’s resources and capabilities to ever-changing needs.
We created a distinctive framework that leverages your blend of capabilities to master STRATEGY, CHANGE and RISK. It enables you to achieve your objectives, boost employee engagement and better connect with customers.
When you’re ready to learn more about how a new framework and approach can change the course of your post-COVID recovery, you are welcome to reach out directly. Dragica@uvidi.ca
Check us out at www.uvidi.ca
