The main benefit of strategy is that it should provide organizational focus and clear direction.

1. Strategy Provides Focus and
Course Objectives
Michael McDermott
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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2. Strategic Planning Process
• Strategic Analysis
• Strategic Choice
• Strategic Implementation
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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3. Focus
• In my experience, the biggest problem
companies face is that they suffer from a lack of
focus
• Why is this the case?
• It’s because the do not have a strategy
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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4. Focus
• It is precisely because they focus upon strategic
choice and implementation
• But refuse to commit to strategic analysis
• Even when they are presented with analysis,
they often lack the courage to follow through
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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5. Lack of Focus: The Critical Issue
• Companies do themselves a huge disservice
• They often do not understand the nature of their own
business
• They fail to recognize their:
– core competences
– strongest product(s)/service(s)
– Market segment with greatest potential due to buyer
preferences and nature of competition
– International markets where the chances of success are
greatest
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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6. Explaining The Essence of a Company
• Imagine this challenge to a business owner:
• “Explain the essence of your company in plain
English that any one can grasp”
• You would think that they could all do that?
• Many cannot!
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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7. Failure to Explain The Essence of a
Company
• Arises from an “inside-out” perspective where the
company focuses upon what it sells and often gets
weighted down in technical details;
• Give an executive a few minutes to do this, and then ask
the audience if they understood, and often they are totally
“lost”;
• The audience is not stupid;
• The executive’s description is complicated and is productoriented
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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8. Success in Explaining The Essence of a
Company
• Arises from an “outside-in” perspective where
the company focuses upon what its customers
buy (i.e the solutions they seek);
• Force an executive to do this, and the audience
always “gets it”;
• The executive’s description is simple and is
customer-oriented, or solutions-oriented
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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9. Comparison: which is the most
helpful description?
Inside-Out
• “We sell software based upon
proprietary programming that
incorporates Java
programming that uses RSx
technology that offers optimal
memory utilization. We sell
our software to a diverse
range of customers such as
surveying, construction
companies, road builders, and
waste management
companies”
Outside-In
• Our software enables users
to move and bury dirt
optimally.
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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10. Genuine Strategy: Becoming Focused
Strategic Analysis
Strategic Choice
Strategic Implementation
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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11. Becoming Focused
Knowledge
=
Strategic Analysis
Courage
=
Strategic Choice
Discipline
=
Strategic Implementation
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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12. Paying Lip-service to Strategic Analysis
• Often organizations undertake an exercise in SA
• However, this tends to be a self-congratulatory
exercise
• Challenging and critical contributions are dismissed
• This is a futile exercise
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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13. Lack of Focus
• Most companies turn the recipe for focus on its
head;
• They begin with Strategic Implementation, and
then are bewildered when success is elusive;
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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14. Lack of Focus:
The Causes and Results
Strategic Implementation = Confusion
Strategic Choice
Strategic Analysis
=
Panic
=
Fire-fighting
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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15. Misguided Approach to Strategy: Putting the cart before the horse
Most companies think the
above is the starting point.
The “Strategic five”
is the starting point
This comes after you answer
the “strategic five”
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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16. Course Objectives
• The primary aim is to develop your ability to
develop your skills in key aspects of strategic
thinking
• The aim is to develop your ability to think in a
highly analytical and logical manner
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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17. Course Objectives
• This ability can only be developed through
practice
• Therefore the emphasis in this class is to
encourage you to apply your newly developed
skills in this classroom, but that you apply
your skills through observation as you go
about daily life
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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18. Course Objectives
• Sports people can only improve through
regular practice
• ….not simply reading about their sport
• And it’s the exact same in terms of students of
business strategy
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mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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19. Course Objectives
• This class is a paradox
• My aim is to help you develop a key skill that will be
with you for life
• So I want to keep it simple
• But at the same time be very challenging in terms of
pushing you to ‘raise your game’
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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20. Course Objectives
1. To develop a clear understanding of the nature of strategy
2. To get you thinking strategically!
– You do not obtain this by memorizing textbook definitions
– It would be a mistake to believe that this Course is about
research
– You will have to undertake a minimal amount of research, but
the primary purpose is to then allow you to think about the
information that you collect, not simply reproduce such.
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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21. Course Objective 1:
Develop a clear understanding of the nature of strategy
•
This is a knowledge-based learning objective
•
You can actually achieve this independently
•
The Course website provides you with the
necessary resources to be “self-taught”
•
The Course will begin by focusing upon this
learning objective
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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22. Course Objective 2:
To get you thinking strategically
•
This is a skills-based learning objective
•
You are not expected to achieve this
independently
•
The Course provides you with the necessary
opportunities to practice this skill
•
The majority of the Course will focus upon this
learning objective
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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23. Course Objectives
Course
Objective 1
• Knowledge-Based Learning
• Can be achieved
independently
• Easy
Course
Objective 2
• Skill-based Learning
• Requires instructor guidance
• Challenging
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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24. Skills-based Learning
• Some of you may be very accomplished at
sports?
• I would very much like to be a good golfer;
• Despite lessons, I am a very inconsistent golfer;
• Why is this the case?
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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25. Why am I an inconsistent golfer?
1. I have gone to a poor instructor?
2. I have not understood the instructor?
3. I get frustrated and sometimes abandon the
instructor’s guidance as I am ‘more comfortable’ with
my bad habits?
4. I struggle to apply his advice to good effect on a
regular basis?
5. I do not practice enough?
6. I do not approach golf with the right attitude, and
recognize that I need to be focused and concentrate?
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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26. The True Reasons that I am an
inconsistent golfer?
1. I get frustrated and sometimes abandon the
instructor’s guidance as I am ‘more
comfortable’ with my bad habits?
2. I struggle to apply his advice to good effect
on a regular basis?
3. I do not practice enough?
4. I do not approach golf with the right attitude,
and recognize that I need to be focused and
concentrate?
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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27. Course Objective 2
• You will be afforded plenty of opportunity to
develop this skill;
– We will begin on the “par 3”
– And then progress to the “golf course”
• But it helps if you are prepared to “practice”
on your own;
© McDermott, 2014;
mcdermottm1@nku.edu
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