business strategy perspective


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Strategy: Failing to Plan is Planning to Fail
Philip Atkinson

Three factors in strategic thinking are critical in taking any organisation to levels of enhanced performance. They are: ‘Focus’, ‘Energy’ and ‘Alignment’.

Direction is Focused

Focus is critical because it indicates direction and progress. Without an objective, a raison d’être, organisations are in chaos, with people confused over which direction to follow. Time and energy wasted. People need to know how they will be measured in achieving specific goals, both strategically and tactically.

Clarity of thought has to be articulated and shared to focus thoughts and motivation. Yet so often we witness average large scale businesses failing to address their directional focus and commercial priorities.

Energising the Goal

"You need people to transform how you do business"

Philip Atkinson

Let's suppose that direction is fixed and firm; the business knows how to leap the gap between where it is now and where is wants to go. But does the organisation have the capability to achieve its objective or aims? Does it have the competence to galvanise the energy and resources to mobilise and motivate all functions, processes and people towards the overall mission?

Concentrate on enabling your organisation to have the leadership that ensures plans are implemented. I have yet to find an organisation where too much leadership has led to over-performance.

In order to demonstrate the energy, and to put life into the strategy, you need people to transform how you do business. This requires independent minded people and those with a high achieving profile.

Aligning Resources to achieve the goal

Here many businesses fail to achieve their potential because of failing to energise resources to achieve their objective.

Alignment is the final key to the strategic puzzle. Once you have focused your direction and mobilised the energy, ask if everyone is pointing in the same direction. Can you be certain they have all bought into the process and fully understand how their contribution fits in the grander ‘scheme’ - and how they will be valued and measured?

Philip Atkinson, managing director Atkinson Consulting, director Woburn Consulting

Philip is a specialist in strategic cultural and behavioural change - originally an economist with a masters degree, he has been senior lecturer at several business schools. He lectures widely and has written seven best selling books on business management and his articles are regularly published in a number of management journals.

For the last twenty years he has worked as a consultant, supporting companies in strategic development, quality management and culture change in the UK, Europe and the North America