The term “strategy” is tossed around a lot in companies – and too many companies seem to constantly change “strategy” in an oxymoronic fashion. To derive a strategy of intrinsic value, it’s more realistic to consider key strategy not as a single “vision” but as a composite of what makes the enterprise tick. Since many larger enterprises are aggregates of business units and cross-functional teams, core strategy must reflect the constant feedback from the organizational composite. This sort of continuous fine-tuning process requires significant in-depth probing, discussion and decision-making, to yield superior results.
Unfortunately, deep thought seems to be falling by the wayside in many companies. Companies that claim strategic interest in innovation and forward thinking, actually tend to discourage deep probing of the usually complex subjects that matter to company success. More and more senior managers have tendencies to actually discourage creative thinking in other employees, while repeating corporate-speak mantras: “think outside the box”, “push the envelope”, “provide thought leadership”. Instead, some executives look for external answers in hackneyed recycled material from the latest “business management gurus”. These executives seem to prefer the glib over the substantive.
Many managers do not give enough thought to the kind of information that they need. Truly important competitive issues are often things that management has not yet imagined. Corporations have many teams in place who already understand quite a bit about the issues through hard-earned knowledge, analytical longevity and direct experience. Instead of trusting these teams to provide valuable insight, many managers want over-simplified, poorly substantiated “info-bullets” that are fast to digest, built not from reality but from desired outcomes. If corporate management strategies could indeed be reduced to a few simple bullets, then every company would easily be successful.
Shallow thinking impacts the validity of the core strategy of the enterprise. Shallow thinking impacts the kind of research that is done – and therefore impacts the quality and depth of information and analysis available to managers, upon which they base decisions. And shallow thinking affects executive management willingness to listen to others. By thinking superficially about topics and issues that are actually difficult and complex, company managers can oversimplify goals and pursue answers for the wrong questions.
Among the teams that could have direct impact on corporate strategic thinking are market/competitive intelligence teams. The optimal relationship between the executive and market intelligence teams would be direct collaboration on a regular basis, though few enterprises institute such an approach.
Market Intelligence programs should be looking into what can be “known” about the future, particularly to understand potential impact, both good and bad, on corporate strategy, at multiple levels. An essential function of MI is rigorous analysis of many kinds of “data” to be able to consolidate pertinent recommendations for strategic thinking. Unfortunately, executive management frequently falls short when it comes to listening to and considering the recommendations of the MI team. Often complex data has been analyzed by MI team, so simplistic recommendations do not necessarily result.
The best MI deliverables should clearly convey what the analysis and recommendations mean in context, and how to use them. Presenting the “big picture” is important, but it is also essential to show the connection to the real details and facts, in order to provide proof and sustain credibility. Company leadership duties include setting the core vision and framing an agenda to accomplish it, but leadership also needs market intelligence to gain clear focus on the salient details that connect strategy to the realities of target markets, customers, the competitive landscape, as well as the solution space.
About the author: Julie Hunt is an accomplished market intelligence analyst, providing strategic market and competitive insights for the software industry. Her 20+ years as a software professional range from the very technical side to customer-centric work in solutions consulting, sales and marketing. Julie shares her takes on the software industry via her blog Highly Competitive and on Twitter: @juliebhunt For more information: Julie Hunt Consulting – Market & Competitive Intelligence Services
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