A new direction in strategic planning

By William C Copacino -- Logistics Management, 10/1/1999

Approaches to business-strategy formulation certainly have evolved over the past three decades. Major developments and their chief proponents have included the growth-share matrix (Henderson), the "five forces" model (Porter), time-based competition (Stalk), competing on capabilities (Hamel), and "strategy as stretch" (Hamel).

In recent years, strategic thinking has come to emphasize both strategic positioning (deciding where and how to compete) and superior execution (having exceptional operations capabilities that allow companies to offer low cost and high-level service). This has been referred to as "strategy as execution" (Mifflin/Fuchs).

Recently, the concept of Integrated Strategy, developed by Breene and Supron, has gained attention. Integrated Strategy draws on the collection of analytic frameworks described above, while also emphasizing both strategic positioning and superior execution capabilities. Most significantly, Integrated Strategy has created a doctrine or set of principles to guide the processes of strategy formulation and implementation. These include:

- Speed. Speed is a key success factor today. It is often better for a company to have a capability that is 80-percent right and move quickly than it is to suffer long delays waiting to get it 100-percent right and then launching a new product. This principle is proving to be particularly important in the e-economy, where being first in the market with a value proposition or new service creates tremendous competitive advantage.

- Learning and renewal. Integrated Strategy operates on the doctrine that learning by doing creates a "living" strategy that stimulates innovation and builds organizational resilience over time. Companies are best served by operating based on a strategic intent rather than on a hard-and-fast strategic blueprint. Pilot programs and early experimentation foster learning that contributes to better strategy formulation. Integrated Strategy formulation demands early experimentation and testing of ideas and incorporates that learning into the process.

- Leadership and ownership. A sense of shared organizational ownership of a strategy, vision, and journey must be built in from the start of the formulation process, not later on as part of the implementation plan. It is critical to address and align the political and emotional agendas within the leadership team from the start. Although it may take time and effort to build such an alignment, it is critical that it be addressed up front.

- Capabilities. Effective strategy is based on leveraging or creating deep organizational capabilities. Alignment of existing (or created or acquired) capabilities with strategic intent is at the heart of competitive success.

- Business modeling. A robust business case or economic rationale is critical if companies are to prioritize goals, obtain and sustain commitment, and guide the implementation. Dynamic analysis of options, scenarios, and ranges of assumptions makes a positive outcome more certain.

Although the term Integrated Strategy is not yet broadly recognized, clearly the principles behind it are keys to business success. Companies that follow this doctrine are more likely to emerge as winners in the new millennium.

William C. Copacino is managing partner of Andersen Consulting's Strategic Services Practice for the Americas. A frequent speaker before business and professional groups, Mr. Copacino has a number of publications to his credit, including the book Supply Chain Management: The Basics and Beyond (The St. Lucie Press, 1997). He is based in Andersen Consulting's Boston office, 100 William St., Wellesley, MA 02181. Phone (617) 454-4480.