April 2012
The last day of March was the financial year’s end for many businesses, and there seems to have been a flurry of activity leading up to it. It’s the time when any leftover money in the budget is spent (especially if the business takes a “use it or lose it” approach), and when the budget for the year ahead is set.
Before budgets can be set, however, decisions need to be made about strategy, objectives, priorities, tactics and the like … or do they? Too often the budgeting process is just that: a process where nebulous dollar figures are loaded into a spreadsheet with little thought about how they link to the bigger picture.
Strategy execution expert Jeroen De Flander, observes:
“In many organisations, budget is king. It’s like the Amazon, the source of life. The strategy process is more like a small stream that meanders slowly through the organisation (and if you’re unlucky, the water doesn’t flow at all and starts to smell).”
He also believes “if companies would invest as much time in their strategy cascade as they do in their budgeting process, most would perform a lot better.”
Please take a few minutes and join us for this month's virtual coffee at The Learning Cafe to:
- Indulge in double shots - new insights and ideas about business and learning
- People-watch - see what others are doing
- Pass comment or gossip - on current topics of interest
- Browse the magazines - and learn some new tricks of the trade
- Be inspired - by the thoughts and actions of others
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The Pyramid of Purpose – your business strategy
Your business needs more than a great strategic plan to guarantee business success. It also needs to communicate the strategy in a way that everyone in the business understands. Staff need to know where the business is going and how they will help it get there.
The “Pyramid of Purpose” is a popular visual tool for communicating strategy. Whether you are a Team Leader, Manager or Senior Executive you can use this tool to help your teams understand their purpose.
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Downer is one of New Zealand’s largest firms in the civil engineering sector – and one of its most progressive employers, full stop. For nearly a decade it has been engaged in upskilling its 5,000-strong workforce, to meet the strategic goal of becoming an employer of choice as well as a leader in workplace productivity.
Such a wide-ranging objective calls for more than a scattered series of one-off initiatives. The Learning Wave has recognised this, and actively developed its role since 2005 to become the strategic learning partner for the entire organisation.
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 Strategy or tactics: big picture or day-to-day focus
A constant conflict in many businesses is the struggle between investing in long-term strategic planning to grow the business and executing short-term tactical activities to meet company objectives and customer needs. How do successful businesses master the balance of these two important business issues?
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The halo effect, and other managerial delusions
Companies cannot achieve superior and lasting business performance simply by following a few key steps. In this article the author shows that the ability to think critically is an important asset for any business strategist.
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Align employees with corporate strategy
Having a robust strategic plan is a great starting point. But it is not enough on its own. Research shows that significant benefits come from making sure your employees understand the role they play in delivering the strategy.
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Simon Sinek presents a simple but powerful model for how leaders inspire action, starting with a golden circle and the question "Why?" In his view, people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.
How great leaders inspire action
This very brief clip from Michael Porter is a must-see for those of us who want to learn what strategy really is!
What is strategy
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