Of all of the things you do to keep your business successful this is the one area that requires constant attention with rigor.
Let me begin with a story.
It was a blustering day in Chicago, Wind out of the NE at 20 Knots, swells of 4-6 feet, a sailboat racers dream! And - a day that the crew would have to be on top of their game! We were well into the third leg of the race, feeling confident as we had a comfortable lead against our number one competitor! Gust picked up, while flying the spinnaker sail which now required our undivided attention…. We were R-A-C-I-N-G!!!! On top of our game – whew hew!!!! And hands on deck all fixed on conditions, position, accountabilities – focused focused!
S-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D”!!!!!! Every racer hates those words – it means another boat is calling right of way and you have to give it to them!
Out of nowhere another boat (our main competitor) yelled –“S-T-A-R-B-O-A-R-D”!!!!!! We were on port tack and had to give way to the starboard boat immediately. We lost ground; we lost the race that day! What happened! We were focused, we knew our accountabilities, and our team work was in total sync! What happened was we took our eye off the ball, lost track of the competitions position for just a few minutes – and they moved right on in!
So this is sailboat racing – what does this have to do with my business? You can scan Harvard Business Review for unlimited stories on how strong viable businesses lost ground and momentum by losing sight of their competitive environment. IBM, Mercedes Benz, and Quaker Oats – the stories provide valuable lessons! www.hbr.com
If you are good – someone is working hard to catch up so you must constantly be environmentally aware! Strong Business Leaders and HR Practitioners must be able to think and act systemically. They must be able to identify root causes of outcomes both positive and negative and understand the forces that are causing these results.
Easier said than done – yes! But with some rigor --not impossible. There are numerous tools and tons of literature. While a spreadsheet will work just fine -- here are a few simple tools to get you started!
The internet – it today’s virtual world it is easy to research and track your market, the global environment, demographics, statics – all are unlimited. Some sites to get you started:
http://www.bls.gov/
http://www.populstat.info/
http://www.sric-bi.com/VALS/
http://www.claritas.com/claritas/Default.jsp
www.2d4b.com
There are many scholars and renowned authors such as Michael Porter and his 5 Forces analyses. Michael suggests you must understand the business of your competitors, of your customers, your suppliers, substitutes for your product, and ease of entry into your market.
http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/porter.shtml
There are also tools such as the SWOT analysis – what are your strengths and weaknesses, what are the opportunities and threats against these strengths and weaknesses.
http://www.quickmba.com/strategy/swot/
Scorecarding - looking at your business through 4 interconnected strategic themes intended to draw forth action. Beginning with your strategy you look at
1. Financial objective including measure, targets, and initiatives
2. Customers
3. Internal actions and processes and
4. Learning’s – what skills need to be taught?
http://www.cbhinc.com/solutions/scorecarding.php
READING RESOURCES:
The Fifth Discipline Field Book P. Senge, A Kleiner, R. Ross et at Doubleday 1994
Systems Thinking Playbook, J. Sweeney, Pegasus Communications www.pegasuscom.com
The Wind In Sail-HR consortium members are skilled in helping business partners look at strategy systemically and then aligning your people strategies to support and underpin those strategies. Feel free to call on us to help!