Huge expectations....
So much of curiosity...
Excitement...
So much of waiting while the making is happening
Anxiety for the stakeholders...
If these are the things that you witnessed before release of a movie then this is so similar to events that take place before a new strategy of a corporate is unveiled too.
Each time a strategy takes off from the board rooms of corporates and lands in the meeting rooms of local branches it is like KABALI being released.
The amount of secrecy with which it is kept makes even the defense personnel awestruck.
Strategies are made in heaven to be executed on earth. Nothing to wonder as most of the so called data backed, consultant baked, highly spoken about strategies bite the dust in the markets only to give yet another chance to one more consultant make more money.
A review of the strategy when it fades in sheen and color always points at bad execution and indicates the heads to roll, nevertheless the heads are always safe while you can imagine whose heads are going to roll.
Strategy after strategy is made and tried at the cost of shareholders as if the management is inspired by the lines of thomas alwa edison.
It is tough to imagine a strategist to ask himself some tough questions.
1. Did the execution alone to be blamed?
2. Did the strategy has any lacuna?
3. Were we too ambitious about its success?
4. Did we give enough time for the strategy to work out?
5. Did we foresee these situations before strategy was launched?
6. Why the course correction did not happen/failed?
But above all I had the privilege of working with a leader (manager) who had a different way of ensuring the success of strategy and I thought it is worth sharing....
It was a national strategy that was launched, and all the team was called for a meeting. There was nothing unusual as we got habituated to getting new strategies regularly. But unlike earlier versions of such strategy meets we had good amount of discussion on the strategy a week before and the leader himself took the pain in explaining it during the conference call. What surprised us was the strategy document also was mailed to us and we were asked to come prepared with our plans on executing the same.
Anything new naturally generates a degree of resentment and consequent gossip among colleagues.
While waiting at airport terminals,
While checking in at the hotel lobbies,
In the rooms before the conference to start,
At the coffee shops while gulping down a cup of coffee before it becomes too late to be in the hall
All the time there was only one topic.. THE NEW STRATEGY and IT'S VULNERABLE POINTS
Hundred plus people, who work at the bottom of the managerial chain of command, the people who are going to implement the strategy, with all their experience and sound knowledge about their areas are in work for the last seven days to FIND WHAT CONSULTANTS CAN'T FIND.
When the conference started the leader came up on the stage and with a curt voice declared that this strategy is going to be the writing on the wall and we had no option but to implement.
No one needs to drop a pin to find if it is audible. There was an uproar of emotions silently taking the shape of lava to explode, but none did.
Lunch break had more hot things than food items alone.
Post lunch is the part where everyone becomes a Rajanikanth in action in making others believe that he is the most intent listener.
The leader came on to the stage again and made a statement that took the sleep off the people with a sudden jolt.
"Guys I need to know how this strategy of yours can be improved? "
Its the defining moment where the cloud of doubt melted and started raining positivity.
Everyone has more than one suggestion. And all these suggestions were well thought about, discussed, expressed, correlated with the real life situations pertaining to various parts of India.
Now the strategy team started taking notes.
We had one more day to work on the strategy. The evening party looked like an extension of strategy meet where people talked even more about making the strategy the best. It was not a show to show off or to massage someone else's ego. It was a serious effort by people to show their solidarity with the leader and his strategy.
We got the strategy with those desired possible changes within a week and it also brought a very positive energy and passion to deliver the same.
Most interestingly there was nothing to talk negative about the strategy. NOW IT IS OURS.
AND THIS INTELLIGENT LEADER SOLD THE STRATEGY.
I could witness some more such strategy meets with him. And he was probably the best strategist I had ever seen.
The take home message for me was, never confine the strategy formulation to four walls and a few computers, however amount of IQ your world class consultant has got or whatever amount of data you have at your disposal.
So much of curiosity...
Excitement...
So much of waiting while the making is happening
Anxiety for the stakeholders...
If these are the things that you witnessed before release of a movie then this is so similar to events that take place before a new strategy of a corporate is unveiled too.
Each time a strategy takes off from the board rooms of corporates and lands in the meeting rooms of local branches it is like KABALI being released.
The amount of secrecy with which it is kept makes even the defense personnel awestruck.
Strategies are made in heaven to be executed on earth. Nothing to wonder as most of the so called data backed, consultant baked, highly spoken about strategies bite the dust in the markets only to give yet another chance to one more consultant make more money.
A review of the strategy when it fades in sheen and color always points at bad execution and indicates the heads to roll, nevertheless the heads are always safe while you can imagine whose heads are going to roll.
Strategy after strategy is made and tried at the cost of shareholders as if the management is inspired by the lines of thomas alwa edison.
It is tough to imagine a strategist to ask himself some tough questions.
1. Did the execution alone to be blamed?
2. Did the strategy has any lacuna?
3. Were we too ambitious about its success?
4. Did we give enough time for the strategy to work out?
5. Did we foresee these situations before strategy was launched?
6. Why the course correction did not happen/failed?
But above all I had the privilege of working with a leader (manager) who had a different way of ensuring the success of strategy and I thought it is worth sharing....
It was a national strategy that was launched, and all the team was called for a meeting. There was nothing unusual as we got habituated to getting new strategies regularly. But unlike earlier versions of such strategy meets we had good amount of discussion on the strategy a week before and the leader himself took the pain in explaining it during the conference call. What surprised us was the strategy document also was mailed to us and we were asked to come prepared with our plans on executing the same.
Anything new naturally generates a degree of resentment and consequent gossip among colleagues.
While waiting at airport terminals,
While checking in at the hotel lobbies,
In the rooms before the conference to start,
At the coffee shops while gulping down a cup of coffee before it becomes too late to be in the hall
All the time there was only one topic.. THE NEW STRATEGY and IT'S VULNERABLE POINTS
Hundred plus people, who work at the bottom of the managerial chain of command, the people who are going to implement the strategy, with all their experience and sound knowledge about their areas are in work for the last seven days to FIND WHAT CONSULTANTS CAN'T FIND.
When the conference started the leader came up on the stage and with a curt voice declared that this strategy is going to be the writing on the wall and we had no option but to implement.
No one needs to drop a pin to find if it is audible. There was an uproar of emotions silently taking the shape of lava to explode, but none did.
Lunch break had more hot things than food items alone.
Post lunch is the part where everyone becomes a Rajanikanth in action in making others believe that he is the most intent listener.
The leader came on to the stage again and made a statement that took the sleep off the people with a sudden jolt.
"Guys I need to know how this strategy of yours can be improved? "
Its the defining moment where the cloud of doubt melted and started raining positivity.
Everyone has more than one suggestion. And all these suggestions were well thought about, discussed, expressed, correlated with the real life situations pertaining to various parts of India.
Now the strategy team started taking notes.
We had one more day to work on the strategy. The evening party looked like an extension of strategy meet where people talked even more about making the strategy the best. It was not a show to show off or to massage someone else's ego. It was a serious effort by people to show their solidarity with the leader and his strategy.
We got the strategy with those desired possible changes within a week and it also brought a very positive energy and passion to deliver the same.
Most interestingly there was nothing to talk negative about the strategy. NOW IT IS OURS.
AND THIS INTELLIGENT LEADER SOLD THE STRATEGY.
I could witness some more such strategy meets with him. And he was probably the best strategist I had ever seen.
The take home message for me was, never confine the strategy formulation to four walls and a few computers, however amount of IQ your world class consultant has got or whatever amount of data you have at your disposal.
