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Your Strategic Plans Probably Aren't Strategic, or Even Plans (hbr.org)
An anonymous reader shares a report: Unfortunately, while C-suite executives talk "strategy," they're often confused about what it means. Why this confusion? The problem starts with the word itself -- a scarily misunderstood concept in management and board circles. The most basic mix-up is between "objective," "strategy," and "action." (I see this frequently in published strategic plans as well.) Grasp this, I tell my audience, and your day will be well spent.
An "objective" is something you're trying to achieve -- a marker of the success of the organization. At the other end of the spectrum is "action." This occurs at the individual level -- a level that managers are presented with day after day. So naturally when they think "strategy" they focus on what they do. But this isn't strategy either. "Strategy" takes place between these two at the organization level and managers can't "feel" that in the same way. It's abstract. CEOs have an advantage here because only they have a total view of the organization.
The key to strategy is that it's the positioning of one business against others -- such GM against Ford and Toyota, for example. What exactly is positioning? It's placement on the strategic factors relevant to each key stakeholder group.
An "objective" is something you're trying to achieve -- a marker of the success of the organization. At the other end of the spectrum is "action." This occurs at the individual level -- a level that managers are presented with day after day. So naturally when they think "strategy" they focus on what they do. But this isn't strategy either. "Strategy" takes place between these two at the organization level and managers can't "feel" that in the same way. It's abstract. CEOs have an advantage here because only they have a total view of the organization.
The key to strategy is that it's the positioning of one business against others -- such GM against Ford and Toyota, for example. What exactly is positioning? It's placement on the strategic factors relevant to each key stakeholder group.
>> CEOs have an advantage...because only they have a total view of the organization.
A CEO fluffer piece from an MBA diploma factory on a slow news Friday. My popcorn's ready...
Objective - goal - win the war
Strategy - how you will get there in broad terms - drive the enemy back to its borders
Tactics - what you will do in specific terms - bomb the *^&$ out of them
I think I won my corporate buzzword bingo of the day. And since it was empty of actual content, I win twice my time back as a bonus! Wait...
Let's address the broader problem, shall we?
"Unfortunately, while C-suite executives talk $_ANYTHING they're often confused about what it means."
Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
Why is this BS on Slashdot?
What the fuck is this stupid shit?
I won
TLDR: Mid-level managers use the word "strategy" to mean BS things that are not strategies. If you groan when you hear the word "leverage" and "synergize" then you aren't one of those people, and there is nothing new in the article.
I found the article confusing because it is clearly aimed at people who can't tell buzzwords from reality. I didn't understand how anyone could use the word "strategy" to mean anything else. It wasn't until I saw the examples and realized "ohhh... THOOOSE kinds of people."
News for nerds, stuff that matters?
"The key to strategy is that it's the positioning of one business against others -- such GM against Ford and Toyota, for example. What exactly is positioning? It's placement on the strategic factors relevant to each key stakeholder group."
So the key to strategy has to do with positioning and the definition of positioning is placement of things on strategic factors... got it... totally clear....
So why is it that Military terms are used for business?
You want to make money and not destroy an enemy nation.
Suggest "Thief's Cant" is actually more useful.
Instead of "Revenue" say "Loot". Instead of "Customer" say "Mark."
An "objective" is something you're trying to achieve -- a marker of the success of the organization. At the other end of the spectrum is "action." This occurs at the individual level -- a level that managers are presented with day after day. So naturally when they think "strategy" they focus on what they do. But this isn't strategy either. "Strategy" takes place between these two at the organization level and managers can't "feel" that in the same way. It's abstract. CEOs have an advantage here because only they have a total view of the organization.
Is the poster seriously expecting business management to use proper grammar? It's hard enough for regular rank-and-file employees to understand these nuances.
I thought it'd be neat to write a virus that lived on network printers and would replace every instance of the word "Strategic" with the word "Satanic" when printing. Sadly, there didn't seem to be any way to open a network socket from the PostScript(tm) layer of the printer, so it would have been unable to spread properly. The "Satanic Plans for Q2" transparencies would definitely have spiced up the board meetings.
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
The key to success is the following.
1. A product or service good enough not to get legal action against you.
2. A sales and marketing team who can exaggerate how great this product is without crossing the line and making legal actions against you, and who knows the people who have the pockets to buy the product.
If you are going to error, you should error on the side of getting legal action, because if you sell more then the cost of the legal you are still making out.
3. Don't barrow more money then you are able to bring in in the long term (Like Toys R' Us and iHeart Media).
Me, I have too much respect for my work to get past #1. And I suck at sales.
If something is so important that you feel the need to post it on the internet... It probably isn't that important.
Departments can indeed make strategic plans, we just finished a five year one at work. Strategy doesn't mean what is between the author's ears.
1. What is being described is typically the role of an Enterprise Architect. And this is why EAs should report to the board of directors, not into IT. Enterprise Architecture doesn't mean "Even Bigger Technical Architecture", it means "The Architecture of the Enterprise Itself". Corporate strategy (to the author's point) is about this overarching design (usually done against a framework).
2. If you want to have a successful organization you need to DESIGN the organization in such a way that the right people with the right ideas thrive in it. You need to change the ecosystem, not drain the pond (swamp), start over and hope for a different outcome next time.
For example: If you would like to change "Washington" you don't elect someone who says "I'm going to drain the swamp" because that is a proposed action, or possibly an outcome depending on your point of view. It is not a strategy.
A strategy is "diminish the effectiveness of corporate money-politics and corruption in Washington". An action is "I'm going to turn lobbying into boardroom presentations only". The outcome is "legislation is driven more by popular opinion rather than corporate interests".
Bottom line is that what he is discussing is the role of EA in an organization. Not sure why he doesn't mention it.
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
12% of a plan?
Yes, the article is full of buzzwords, but those words do actually have meaning. I agree that more often than not, the words get tossed around, soul sucking meetings had, papers filled out and minutes recorded and nothing actually happens.
But, that doesn't mean the is theory is bad, only the implementation.
In essence, that's what this article is trying to say. Strategy is not about deciding to make a new product or enter a new market. Strategy is about deciding who you are as a company. That's a much bigger, much harder goal and one that I think most of us wish our companies could do. Decide what exactly it is that you're going to do and then go frigging do it!
The difference between those words is meaningless to a shrewd, psychopathic CEO.
He knows words have different meanings. This "vocational speaker" is a typical idiot. His "career" is based off discussing other people's careers, watching them do their job from the sidelines.
The CEO picks words he thinks will sound AWESOME. They will match his fiery, impassioned tone, and impeccable hairline, and by the time he is finished, he will convince his audience that strategy IS objective. That "all plans are objectively strategic". Can't you see the synergy? His Strategic Paradigm? Truckloads of money will come to him. And they may disappear too.
At the end of the day, the CEO will share a limo with a US senator on his way to a lush, private Gulfstream waiting at the airport and the vocational speaker will squeeze into his little Toyota Nobody and putter back to his hum-drum life writing articles like "Your Strategic Plans Probably Aren't Strategic, or Even Plans", without ever seeing the irony.
with very few exceptions. They're the ruling class. That's why corporations have all sorts of legal protections you and I don't have (you don't spill the blood of kings) and why they're never punished for their mistakes (if you're gonna hit the king you better kill the king).
America and all the rest of the world has a strong class divide as well as various caste systems used to divide the working class into manageable chunks that can be rules. Once you realize this everything else makes sense.
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What does that have to do with the goddamn TPS reports?
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
Unfortunately, while buzzword executives talk "buzzword," they're often confused about what it means. Why this confusion? The problem starts with the word itself -- a scarily misunderstood concept in management and buzzword circles. The most basic mix-up is between "buzzword," "buzzword," and "buzzword." (I see this frequently in published buzzwords as well.) Grasp this, I tell my audience, and your day will be well spent.
An "buzzword" is something you're trying to achieve -- a buzzword. At the other end of the buzzword is "buzzword." This occurs at the buzzword -- a level that managers are presented with day after day. So naturally when they think "buzzword" they focus on what they do. But this isn't buzzword either. "buzzword" takes place between these two buzzwords and managers can't "feel" that in the same way. It's buzzword. CEOs have an advantage here because only they have buzzword.
The key to buzzword is that it's the buzzword of one business against others -- such GM against Ford and Toyota, for example. What exactly is buzzword? It's buzzword on the buzzwords relevant to each key buzzword group.
This is 90% moonshine, with 10% of substance. The language of business.
Bullshit.
Translated: I word deploy and alchemize synergy. Your information hyper deployment is not bottom lined.
[captcha: retard - Damn...that's not too cool. I use the term more than I should but it definitely should not appear in this context. I shudder to think what else it's gonna pop up...]
On one of the exam keys, the TA mixed up tactical and strategic management... That should tell you all you need to know about the importance of getting this right.
The whole summary sounded like a joke, some kind of 90's riff on "synergy" and "rightsizing".
I don't think the executives are really ignorant of what the words mean. But they use words like "strategic" when they should know better, because they want to be perceived as smarter and more visionary than they actually are.
They end up looking like pompous asses.
Ever work for a big company? - did you have to write down your G&O's ? I always thought WTF is the difference and wrote crap down because I knew that the next year nobody read it anyhow.
Maybe I'm getting old - but do people really ask what the difference is between a Strategy and Action plan? Seriously is that somebody people wonder...and more important didn't know? You got'ur play book - make it happen.
Make it so.
Who cares.
I had him once, briefly for a few months. This guy had been promoted 2 or 3 levels above his ability.
We're in a meeting with the head of dev and we all agree that v2.x, which a few customers wanted continued, was a "tactical release".
We then get onto the new stuff, v3.x which the company was betting it's long term future on. The room called it a "strategic release".
However it then got messy and v3.x started getting pushed aside in favour of v2.x and even saw v3.x getting things changed to suit v2.x needs.
I said "why are we allowing our tactics to dictate our strategy?".
Boss looks at me like a moose chewing cud silently mouthing the words I'd just said while screwing up his face.
The head of dev breaks the silence with "good point!". They moved on and continued with their plans.
If your strategy isn't primary and you let your tactics dictate your long terms plans and actions you are fucked.
I think this story raises a good point, most people don't know what strategy, or tactics, are or can differentiate them.
strategery - that's something pointy-haired boss of Dilbert would say..
to words that matter?
I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
Tactics are immediate, strategy takes time.
Super simple stuff.
I win.
Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
To be strategic is to do something in the wider world like countering competitors in an established market, or invading a new market. It intimately involves responses of players you have 0 control over in reality, customers, competitors responses, and investor expectations.
Control freaks, do not apply here. You will fail. Yes you can be a destructive middle manager with some stats you can manipulate to show apparentsuccess, but as soon as you come up against what you have 0 control over you will not know how to respond
To be strategic is to actually be able to balance tactical vs the ultimate aim in a highly skilled way. It is also the skill of looking into what may happen in the future and design counter measures. You will be wrong, but if you are mostly right then that will be good enough you change your view based on those facts.
Tactics is all about what tack you're on, so as to be able to fire broadsides at an enemy who can't fire back. Strategy is all about being upwind before the battle ever starts, so you can chose what tack to be on, when your enemy can't.
davecb@spamcop.net
but thanks for trying to put words in my mouth.
We have a ruling class. Just like the kings of old. You can even occasionally join it through trickery, guile or just plain extraordinary good fortune. Just like in the old days.
Yes, the world is a complicated place. But that doesn't mean there aren't systems in place that can be recognized. Or that these systems don't exist for the benefit of all mankind. As Gore Vidal put it: I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I'm a conspiracy analyst.
Oh, and Protip: You sounds like some goof from the 90s writing about Sega Genesis games when you use the phrase "Protip".
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https://www.mayoclinic.org/dis...
Signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder and the severity of symptoms vary. People with the disorder can:
Have an exaggerated sense of self-importance
Have a sense of entitlement and require constant, excessive admiration
Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements that warrant it
Exaggerate achievements and talents
Be preoccupied with fantasies about success, power, brilliance, beauty or the perfect mate
Believe they are superior and can only associate with equally special people
Monopolize conversations and belittle or look down on people they perceive as inferior
Expect special favors and unquestioning compliance with their expectations
Take advantage of others to get what they want
Have an inability or unwillingness to recognize the needs and feelings of others
Be envious of others and believe others envy them
Behave in an arrogant or haughty manner, coming across as conceited, boastful and pretentious
Insist on having the best of everything — for instance, the best car or office
Posting to undo wrongly cast moderation.
According to Bender https://youtu.be/a2krXq8fw90
I believe that CEO must share crucial information so that its directors and managers can achieve the goals and objectives of the company.
When your profession consists of lecturing people who are more successful than you, it's deeply ironic. The fact it escapes you is unsurprising, since you take your intellectual guidance from cartoons.
You're probably a bald piece of shit too. (but unironically)
Recommended Reading: "The Strategy-focussed Organisation". ISBN 1578512506. it's a biiiig book. you can read it, or you can use it to beat your CEO over the head. either way you will feel a lot better about strategy. or you could just subscribe to dilbert. http://dilbert.com/strip/2014-...
but seriously, this is a book that asks the right questions for anyone wanting to know about strategy within an organisation. it asks - and shockingly actually answers - the question, "why should anyone at any level of an organisation CARE about strategy?" and that's actually really really hard to do, because each person in a company has a completely different role to play. strategy therefore *legitimately* means different things to each person, so getting CEOs to care and understand strategy is *only 1/Nth of the company where N is the number of people in it*.
I was part of a "strategy" group of our corporation.
Over time, I found that it was not strategy we were doing, but merely translating and justifying the ideas of the top management.
Today, I'd call it propaganda instead of strategy: to "sell" gueswork and industry hypes to other parts of the organization.
You do need to know the target you're aiming at before you go around shooting, so yes, you need a Goal. You shouldn't just rush off and have everybody hack away randomly, so you need an Approach. And you need to turn those into specific Steps/Tasks so people know what to focus on right now, and so you can measure your outcomes and feed that back.
"We receive as friendly that which agrees with, we resist with dislike that which opposes us" - Faraday
To standardize an organization on a functional differentiation of these terms (among others) could streamline communication and clarify cooperation between employees. There seems to be no common standard between all organizations. I suggest the following..
The following terms may apply at different organization levels, relative to whatever unit of business we are talking about.
Strategy
Innovative plan to reach an Objective or further a Goal.
Operations
Standard methodologies using Tasks for reaching Goals.
Tactics
Standard methodologies for using Tasks to reach Objectives.
Goal
A target to further.
Objective
A target to achieve.
Task
Planned movement toward an Objective or Goal.
Action
An action is completion of a Task.
Yet here you are, you cartoon balloon animal.
At least we can shitpost on Slashdot from the comfort of own homes. You have to go to Starbucks and buy a latte just to post as Anonymous Coward!