Devising Strategy

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Devising Strategy in the Boardroom

Decision makers always deal with uncertainties but this is a particularly challenging time because things are shifting quickly and often suddenly. It pays to have a view of what lies ahead, rather than waiting until it happens, and my objective in these pages is to make some of my observations and thoughts accessible for anyone who has an interest.

You will find links here to other pages relevant blogs on these subjects, and links to further reading and reference background elsewhere. Some of these external links are behind paywalls.

Key considerations for decision makers

As the cat pointed out, if you don’t have a view of where you’re trying to go, then it matters little where you go next, you’ll just be surviving. That can be good, of course, but only if there’s a purpose to survival and it’s not an end in itself.

So, the C Suite must examine, debate, and agree what lies ahead in three key areas. Agreement on these, even if only at a headline level, synchronises everyone and underpins the effort to succeed.

1. Aspirations of Stakeholders

These will be very personal and specific to each situation, so inappropriate for discussion here, except to say that clarity of shared objectives and priorities is where it all begins. Without unanimity on this, what lies ahead could be difficulties in the Boardroom that are distracting and best resolved early. Read more on Advisory…

2. External trends and opportunities

In my experience, senior decision makers focus more naturally and more often on internal issue and actions, than on examining their environment and understanding the implications. As someone once said: “Something needs to be done; I’m doing something, therefore something is being done”.

The primary purpose of these pages is to promote the value of looking outwards at a time when changing circumstances is dominating most boardrooms, or should be. Rapid and abrupt change is happening, and not all of it is unpredictable.

I see some very definite trends and opportunities ahead, and examine these in overview in Trends and Opportunities and its underlying pages. Inevitably, this is work in progress since these things are shifting all the time, and I publish blogs on these topics and the changing outlook, every week or so. Here is a listing of blogs related to Trends, and you’ll also find the link in the footer of each page in this site.

I am examining what lies ahead in the key trends in more detail, and add pages on each as they are published

3. Management Responses

Of course this is a big subject with many superb experts, commontators and sages, and I am none of these. However, I’ve spent more than four decades working in the boardrooms of fast changing businesses as an entrepreneur, non-executive, mentor, and investor. This gives me some experience to draw on.

 

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Peter is chairman of Flexiion and has a number of other business interests. (c) 2019, Peter Osborn

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