Business and Finance

Strategy is a strange word. It is treated like a gospel. Once it is put on paper, it needs to be revered, etched in stone.

Strategy may be all that. But that does not make it sustainable?

Most strategists usually jump headlong into full throttle execution, assuming that the gospel will lead to the holy trail. They do not feel the need to test it. Extensive rollout is planned without doing a pilot. And lessons in execution are learnt in ‘hindsight’ rather than during the process of execution.

Strategy is never ‘sustainable strategy’ unless it is backed by successful execution. Lessons learnt during the initial stages of execution should be used as inputs to alter/modify/overhaul strategy . Closing this loop is the only way for generating sustainable strategy which delivers long lasting business results.

Continue reading ‘Closing the Loop Between Strategy & Execution – Lessons From the Indian Retail Story’ »

Often during the process of strategy execution, the implementers start getting early feedback that the strategy is way off the mark. This feedback comes from the front lines : from employees, customers, suppliers, associates.

Given a bad strategy, a great execution will only speed up a business failure. What the implementers need is a mandate or a license to kill bad strategy without wasting precious resources and time. However there are reasons why a bad strategy is never shot down before it is too late .

1. Implementation is done by the lowly grunts or junior level managers and there is no process through which the ‘grunts’ or ‘hands and legs’ can communicate their feedback. Even if there are means to relay feedback , the feedback does not have the necessary credibility.

Continue reading ‘The Licence to to Kill a Bad Strategy’ »

Akbar was a really powerful king.

He had an empire that extended from the mountains of Hindu-Kush to the Bay of Bengal. As an emperor he had the sheer might to crush his opponents, to smash their kingdom into rubble. Like they do ‘a hostile’ (takeover) these days.

Akbar, however, preferred to integrate. He married into the Rajputs , his fiercest & most tenacious opponents. His favoured queen was a Rajput queen Jodhabai. He gave Rajputs a lot of respect, important jobs in the army and bestowed on them a lot of honours.

It was a wise thing to do. While Akbar was an uncontested Emperor, the Rajputs remained kings of their small kingdoms. So while Akbar had a vast empire he saved a lot of his time from martial pursuits. Instead he worked on pursuits of a different kind like ideating about a new religion.

Continue reading ‘Integrating an Acquired Company – Lessons From an Indian Emperor Called Akbar’ »

It is something that I spend a lot of time on; convincing the CEO to think from the customer standpoint, talking to the department head about what will deliver results at the frontlines.

It requires a lot of thinking to make something ‘dumb’ and it is never simple to make anything ‘simple’. Companies are often caught in a situation where they are terribly excited about a slew of product launches or service upgrades which they think is going to be terribly exciting to the customer. The customer may indeed be excited, only if somebody told him about it or better still answered all his queries.

Continue reading ‘Make it Dumb and Simple. or Forget About Scaling a Business Idea’ »

Nonprofit Organization Survival Tips:

Surviving and Thriving in Tough Economic Times

Seth Bloom, Bloom Consulting, Inc.

Recession, inflation, deflation, correction, etc., whatever you want to call what we’re going through the simple fact is that many of us have already made adjustments at home and in our businesses, and most of us may need to consider further belt-tightening in the near future. As community leaders, many of us are also wrestling with the impact this economy is having on our nonprofit organizations. As consultants specializing in nonprofit fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and leadership development, Bloom Consulting has had extensive experience with the financial challenges that all nonprofits face from time to time, and we recognize the difficulties that the current situation poses. Fortunately, we believe there are ways to reduce its impact and insure that your nonprofit not only survives, but thrives, in the days ahead.

This list is for anyone with a common sense approach to surviving and thriving in tough economic times. While nonprofit organizations should consider many of these initiatives, they may not all apply to every nonprofit. Yours may have already adopted some, while others may seem too simple or too difficult. Chances are you’ll find a few here to consider, and undoubtedly others will stimulate your own creative ideas.

Continue reading ‘Surviving and Thriving in Tough Economic Times’ »

A sure-fire way to start the success of your business strategic planning process is to identify the foundation upon which your business was built. Lacking a well defined mission statement and equally communicated vision statement identifying your desired future will make the job a great deal more difficult. Rather like threading a needle and thread without tying a knot at its end, an undefined business floats its intended outcome with little to anchor its goals and strategic activities. “Your mission and vision statements should be used to help focus your business in terms of direction, leadership, and goal-setting ; mission and vision statements are the basis for your organization’s strategic planning”, said Don Midgett, author of Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future.

“Visionary businesses excel because they set goals that relate directly to their mission and vision statements. They communicate their vision statement and vision-based goals to both customers and employees. They come up with strategic activities and daily/weekly/monthly actions to reach their goals and, over some period of time, achieve their vision. It is in this way that a business can control its own destiny, rather than let outside forces determine a business direction.” A periodic review by management of your strategic planning actions will let you know if you have chosen the right strategic activities for your business. Additionally you can also make sure that the strategic planning activities you have chosen to implement are all supportive of your mission and vision statements. Use your mission and vision statements to chart and stay the course.

Continue reading ‘Strategic Planning Begins With a Mission Statement and a Vision Statement’ »