Strategy is Distributive - Making Strategy Fun Again (Part 2)

 

Why do so many other smart people struggle with Strategy?  Because smart people are used to being right – and in Strategy very often there are no ‘right’ answers. There is a suitable direction/aspiration, and a testable winning logic. The rest is distribution & iteration.

So what? Team member apathy is at epidemic levels around the world – and strategy is a big part of the problem.

Strategy is usually a drag, no? Flat, boring & superficial directives from on high prepared by disinterested technocrats, or even worse, by LLMs pretending to be human. No wonder people are disengaged.  What’s wrong with strategy & how do we fix it’? (This is 2^nd article in a series.)

Strategy is Distributive

Strategy is distributed problem solving; each level has to solve discrete problems that are aligned with each other, and with our overall Aspiration.  Each level has to define their ‘hot spots’, assign resources, and run experiments around the key questions of problem solving and/or innovation – (a core element in my books).

Few organizations do this well. Some hope that the AI wave will improve the situation, though I am doubtful (for reasons I’ll explore in upcoming articles).

Common Blockers to Distributive Strategy

Here are some of the many blockers I’ve observed:

1.     Lack of trust – currently spiking because of AI

2.     Lack of alignment or clarity around our core Aspiration. Key enablers: Leadership & the related arts of rhetoric, oratory, and storytelling

3.     Inadequate problem-solving skill – root causes include lack of practice, inadequate systemic ‘nudges,’ overly complex algorithms, absence of mentorship.

4.     Fundamental misunderstandings around continuous improvement vs Innovation – OpEx and Innovation live in different worlds - (see my articles on Aristotle’s ‘two worlds’ formulation)

5.     Organizational inertia – deploying and executing Strategy is usually arduous work with few rewards. Running the business consumes all our time & energy.

I’ve addressed many of these blockers in past articles. Let me briefly discuss blocker # 5 here. Even if we have addressed # 1 to 4, we need to create space for strategic problem solving - physical, financial, temporal, organizational, cultural, emotional and cultural space. This means allocating time, money, leadership and organizational energy. It means senior leader playbacks, Shark Tanks, Improvement Fairs, Hackathons and the like, wherein we observe, challenge, mentor and grow our future leaders. It means aligning HR systems, so our best & brightest problem-solvers & innovators are recognized.  It means engaging the Board in levelling up our reward systems. How many organizations have the vision, will & tenacity to do this?

Strategy is Distributive

In my doodle above, each spiral represents are capable team running rapid experiments in pursuit of some strategic improvement or innovation.  Keep these wheels spinning is the job of leaders. Ensuring the management system enables such work is the job of the Board. In some organizations it all comes together & holds – a thing of beauty not easily forgotten. I’ve experienced this beauty more than a few times, and it keeps you coming back for more.

Best wishes,

Pascal Dennis         E: pascal.dennis@leansystems.org