BUSINESS STRATEGY AND ‘COMMON SENSE’ CRF October 2010 BUSINESS STRATEGY AND ‘COMMON SENSE’ Marcus Alexander Adjunct Professor of Strategic and International Management, London Business School Director, Ashridge Strategic Management Centre Associate Fellow, Oxford Saïd Business School

Lets start with ‘the crisis’… Things have never been like this before! No one can doubt that we are living in unique times! The rate of change is greater than ever! ....REALLY?

What about ‘STRATEGY’?

How does ‘strategy’ affect performance? Some Potential Benefits quick decisions coherent decisions superior decisions co-ordinated actions confidence self-awareness focus hypothesis-based learning deep roots in ‘reality’ explanation for others Some Potential Risks missed opportunities constrained choices disastrous decisions inflexibility sense of failure delusions of grandeur isolation block to learning lost touch with ‘reality’ waste of time

Some ‘dimensions’ of strategy Context Strategic Perspective A Strategy Process D Strategic Decisions B Strategy Content C

A. Strategy as a ‘perspective’ Strathgos Strathgos - The ‘Art of the General’ “Doing the right things vs Doing things right” Relative to goals: the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ Deeply questioning Cause & Effect Dynamics, inter-relationships and systems Recognises: “We are not alone”

A. Strategic Perspective: Challenges Questions to discuss briefly on the tables: When/why/how often do YOU take a ‘strategic perspective’? - Is there anything you would like to change about this? How do you help others take a strategic perspective when it is appropriate? - Could you be even more helpful? Question for Post-It Note comments: Based on your own thoughts and your discussions with others, what strikes you as most important about this topic of ‘Strategic Perspective’?

Some ‘dimensions’ of strategy Context Strategic Perspective A Strategic Decisions B

Formulation and Implementation of Strategy B. Strategic Decisions BIG Strategic Decisions Formulation and Implementation of Strategy LITTLE Strategic Decisions

B. Strategic Decisions: Challenges Questions to discuss briefly over coffee: How do YOU improve the quality of ‘Big Strategic Decisions’ in your organization? - What else could you do? What are some of the ‘Little Strategic Decisions’ that are still important in YOUR organization? - What do YOU do to improve them? Question for Post-It Note comments: Based on your own thoughts and your discussions with others, what strikes you as most important about this topic of ‘Strategic Decisions’?

Some ‘dimensions’ of strategy Context Strategic Perspective A Strategic Decisions B Strategy Content C

“Value Creation and Capture” C. Strategy Content Aims “Mission School” INTERNAL EXTERNAL Resources Opportunities “Resource Based View” “Value Creation and Capture”

C. Strategy Content: Challenges Questions to discuss briefly on the tables: What are YOUR own biases between the 3 corners and why? How do YOU look at issues in each of the 3 corners? - Could this be improved? How do YOU help others in teams and as individuals to link all 3 corners together? Question for Post-It Note comments: Based on your own thoughts and your discussions with others, what strikes you as most important about this topic of ‘Strategy Content’?

Some ‘dimensions’ of strategy Context Strategic Perspective A Strategy Process D Strategic Decisions B Strategy Content C

What will help us get there ? D. Strategy Process Where are we now ? Where do we want to go ? Where could we go ? What will help us get there ? What do we do today?

D. Strategy Process: Challenges Questions to discuss briefly on the tables: What makes the ‘Strategy Process’ most/least effective in YOUR organization? What roles do YOU play in the Strategy Process of your organization? - Are these the ‘right’ roles, and could you play them better? Question for Post-It Note comments: Based on your own thoughts and your discussions with others, what strikes you as most important about this topic of ‘Strategy Process’?

Common sense… THE BLINDINGLY OBVIOUS IS INDEED OFTEN ‘BLINDINGLY’ Context Strategy Process D Strategic Perspective A Strategic Decisions B Content C Common sense…