Time to RETHINK, RELOAD, RESTART Your Strategy - Albu Strategy Management (albu-strategymanagement.com)
As we make our way out of the Covid-19 crisis in 2021, its time to rethink, reload, and restart your business. Its time to bounce back from adversity. Its time to balance short-term tactical activities with long-term strategic initiatives. Its time to capitalize on strengths and invest in future winning capabilities. Value creation requires strategic thinking and is a byproduct of the investment choices made 3 to 5 years in advance.
What strategic choices will you make today that will guide where you allocate resources in the future? Needless to say, no company has unlimited resources. Jack Welch said it best, “Strategy is simply resource allocation. When you strip away all the noise, that’s what it comes down to. Strategy means making clear-cut choices about how to compete (and win). You cannot be everything to everyone, no matter what the size of your business or how deep its pockets.”
Rethink: Open up the strategic dialogue to a wide range of internal and external talent and expertise. Invite creativity and imagination and become a learning culture. The pandemic should be the spark to think differently and a willingness to experiment. Its an opportunity to explore new ways to create true competitive advantage.
Reload: Reset the organization on a new strategic course. Anyone can steer the ship, but it takes a commitment to chart the course and to see the entire trip, even before it leaves the dock. The human and financial investment choices made today will deliver increased value for stakeholders.
Restart: Communicate the strategy by framing the investment choices carefully, so that the strategy is viewed as positive and personal to everyone. Invite participation, listen carefully to questions, and respond thoughtfully. The purpose is to achieve buy-in from key stakeholders to gain commitment and re-energize everyone post-Covid.
Harvey McKay (businessman, author, and syndicated columnist) tells a story of a great oak tree. For 100 years it withstood the winds, but one day a storm knocked the oak into a raging river and carried it out toward the sea. The oak came to rest on a shore where some reeds were growing, and the tree wondered how these reeds still stood after the strong winds. The oak tree said, “I have stood up against many storms, but this one was too strong for me.” The reeds replied, “that’s your problem…all these years you have stubbornly pitted your strength against the wind. You were too proud to yield a little. We, on the other hand, knowing our weaknesses, just bend and let the wind blow over us without resisting it.” The moral of this story…companies that bend and change to deal with unforeseen problems, will have the toughness to bounce back from any adversity.
What is your post-Covid strategy? Are you ready and willing to rethink, reload, and restart your business strategy? Don’t be like the great oak tree, unwilling to change. Rather, plan now for the future to get out ahead of your competitors and customers.
We would like to hear how you are dealing with change. Please feel free to share this article with you friends and associates as you see fit.
QUOTES:
"Strategy is about making choices, trade-offs; it's about deliberately choosing to be different." Michael Porter – Educator/Author of economics and business strategy.
Dick Albu is the founder and president of Albu consulting LLC, a strategy management consulting firm focused on engaging and energizing leadership teams of middle market private and family businesses. With offices in Stamford, CT, the firm is dedicated to helping its clients formulate robust business strategies and follow through on execution of key strategic initiatives. Dick Albu can be reached at 203-355-3784 or RAlbu@albuconsulting.com. Rob Krist, Managing Director can be reached at RKrist@albuconsulting.com. Please visit Albu Consulting’s website for more information at www.albuconsulting.com.