I read a lot about strategy making in today’s dynamic environment and about innovation – two areas that are closely interrelated. The business environment has changed dramatically over the last couple of years; it is now described as a VUCA-world. This requires new approaches to both – strategy and innovation. Despite the rising awareness for this fact, many businesses are still struggling to adapt their approaches, processes, and – most importantly – their thinking to these new challenges.
This is reflected in my favorite picks from this month’s readings:
Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon state in Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change
“If strategy was like a high-stakes chess game a few decades ago, it’s more like hockey today – fast, risky, and hard to follow. There’s at least as much improvisation as there is planning involved.â€
At the same time, they observe
“For many, it’s hard to stop doing the things that made them successful even after they no longer workâ€
Ramon Vulling and Marc Heleven make a similar observation in Not Invented Here: Cross-industry Innovation
“Today innovation is seen as one of the main driving forces for growth, development and profitability. The problem is that – in many cases – innovation is an extrapolation of the current situation.â€
Greg Satell agrees in 3 Things That Will Eventually Kill Your Business
“… the likely cause of your business’s future failure is a factor in its success today.â€
and
“The problem is that it’s often hard to change an area that has historically been a crucial part of your success.â€
Besides that, there are additional explanations for business’s problems to successfuly adapt their strategy making:
- “As you become more informed, you forget what it’s like to not know what you knowâ€
- “… after years of aggressive cost controls, many managers have too many responsibilities and too little time to reflect.†(both again Chris Ertel and Lisa Kay Solomon in Moments of Impact: How to Design Strategic Conversations That Accelerate Change
)
- “The safe route always leads to mediocrity, and that is the real risk.†Randy Gage in Risky is the New Safe: The Rules Have Changed . . .
)
- “Today, we have quickly changing customer perceptions, and assuming to know the customer’s mind is a dangerous game. We can no longer depend on that same competitive advantage to drive our growth into the future.†(Sara Richmond in Stop Using Your Grandma’s Strategy Tools – Evolve with Your Customer)
- “Gathering facts, speculating, and creating scenarios is no guarantee of success.†(Tony Manning in Making Sense of Strategy
)
My final quote relates to the VW scandal that hit the news at the end of September. There was much discussion about possible causes, moral and ethics. I found a great summary in this sentence:
“Not your stated values are reality but your behavior in your business (model)â€
Patrick Stähler in We “totally screwed upâ€: Values and Behaviors in Volkswagen business model
Which great thoughts did you discover last month? Share them with us in the comments section below!