ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY
THE BIG PICTURE ON ORGANIZATIONS
1. Solve the business model, before solving the org
Strategy must flow down from mission to targets to value proposition to go-to-market and then to the organization.
2. Always remember the purpose of an organization
3. An organization is more than its people
Every action of the org is part of a process, executed by a team members, partners and infrastructure.
4. Solve core competencies to drive differentiation
THE PURPOSE OF AN ORGANIZATION IS TO...
In business, the purpose of an organization is to efficiently & effectively develop and deliver the value proposition and go-to-market to fulfill the needs of customers better than competitors to achieve the mission.
Now, the reality is employees aren't expending most of their energy on developing and delivering the value proposition and go-to-market. Therein lies the opportunity and challenge; to lean out a lot of the energy and waste that doesn't create value for the company.
We've all felt the pain of working for or with companies that are fraught with complexity, inefficiency, and apathetic employees. It isn't fun, rewarding, or motivating. Half of the issue is typically strategic misalignment, where there isn't a strong focus on target customers, differentiating the value proposition, and amplifying the value through an aligned go-to-market. The other half of the issue is typically org related, driven by organizational complexity, problems with culture, norms, and a sub-optimal employee journey.
Let's dive into the fundamentals of organizations.
The Elements of an Organization
There are five main elements of an organization 1. functions, 2. processes, 3. team members, 4. infrastructure, 5. partners.
Every action of the organization is part of a process, whether acknowledged as a process or not. Processes are a combination of actions by team members, partners, and infrastructure, organized into functions.
How a Value Chain Works...
An organization has value chain functions and support functions. Value chain functions, such as logistics, ops, sales, marketing, and service, are functions responsible for taking raw inputs and processing them into the value proposition and go-to-market, which creates value for the business. The support functions, such as HR, IT, facilities, procurement, and finance, support the rest of the functions in their drive for efficiency and effectiveness.
The Profit Equation
Growing profit is a function of increasing revenue while reducing the costs and capital of a business.
Most of the costs and capital of an organization are tied up in the team members, infrastructure, and partners. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization reduces costs and capital.
Revenue growth is a function of how well the customer value proposition competes in the market, and how effectively the go-to-market amplifies the value proposition to the target customers. Improving the customer value proposition and go-to-market drives revenue growth.
At a high level, corporate strategy is about improving the customer value proposition and go-to-market, while improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.
Core Competencies
Core competencies are the best-in-class capabilities needed to develop and deliver the competitive advantage and differentiation of the value proposition. Before diving into organizational strategy, a business should define its competitive advantage and differentiation, and then define the core competencies necessary to develop and deliver the competitive advantage and differentiation.
Examples of core competencies are Tesla's design and engineering, Coca-Cola's branding and marketing, and McDonald's service operations. Each one of these companies builds the best processes, hires and retains world-class talent, creates the foundational infrastructure, and develops strong partnerships for their core competencies.
THE 5 PILLARS OF ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY
Read about the role and competencies of a
Strategic Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO)
1. Functional Strategies - Don't Start There
Large gains in organizational efficiency and effectiveness come from aligned and coordinated functional strategies. Let's go back to the purpose of an organization, which is to efficiently and effectively develop and deliver the customer value proposition and go-to-market.
The key to functional strategy is to work from the top of the business model down in strategic planning. Define and evangelize a strong mission. Then focus the business model on the right target markets, customers, and geographies. Better-defined target strategies will help focus the product, services, and pricing strategies to drive better customer value than the competition. Once the differentiated value proposition strategies are in place, then it is easier to develop great go-to-market strategies that will amplify the value proposition.
Once you understand what you need to develop and deliver for your value proposition and go-to-market strategies, then you can answer the strategic questions about the organization, functions, processes, people, infrastructure, and partners to drive the execution.
Unfortunately, many companies solve their strategy from the bottom up, with the functions independently defining their strategies, which is analogous to trying to design a car by having the engine, chassis, body, and electronics teams independently design their components. In the end, the car won't work.
1. Functions - Solve for the Big Output & Big Process
Every function has some big process that creates some big output. As we defined early on, strategy is simply the goals we choose and the actions we take to achieve those goals. So, functional strategies always come down to defining the big output (goals) and then defining the initiatives (actions) to improve the big process.
2. Process - Inputs into Outputs
Every action in an organization is part of a process, whether acknowledged as one or not. A process is defined as team members, infrastructure, and/or partners processing inputs to make outputs. There are often hundreds to thousands of processes across companies, with varying levels of process maturity. Companies with strong process discipline drive the efficiency of their team members, infrastructure, and partners.
2. Process Transformation - Up, Down & Across
In a company, processes connect all the various actions of individuals, teams, functions, and leadership. Process excellence is not some centralized capability. Process excellence needs to be developed within individuals and teams throughout the organization.
A process transformation nurtures in an organization important concepts and tools, such as the process maturity model, lean methodologies, continuous improvement, automation, and governance. Process excellence is a language of improvement, and the more people talk the same process excellence language, the better the process improvement.
3. Team Members
Team members are the true heart and soul of any organization. The goal is to elevate and realize the potential of individuals and the collective team. There are three main elements to team member strategy: 1. organizational design, 2. the employee journey, and 3. culture. Getting these three elements dialed in will create dividends for years in the form of fulfilled and productive team members.
4. Infrastructure
Infrastructure includes all of the equipment and technology team members work with, and the facilities they use. Infrastructure strategy is essential, given a few reasons. Companies typically invest most of their capital in infrastructure. Also, a company's value is largely based on its return on invested capital.
5. Partners
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
For any company, the organization is the engine of execution. There are many parts to get right to drive the efficiency and effectiveness of an organization. In the next sections, we go over the strategies for each element of an organization, including:
- HR Strategy - Organizational Design (Free Templates)
- HR Strategy - Employee Journey & Culture (Free Templates)
- Process Strategy (Free Templates)
- Partner Strategy (Free Templates)
If you need to develop an hr org strategy set up some time with me, Joe Newsum, the creator of this content and a McKinsey alum, and we'll start figuring it out together.
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186-PAGE HR & ORG STRATEGY PRESENTATION
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18-PAGE BUSINESS MODEL TEMPLATE
BIG PICTURE
WHAT IS STRATEGY?
BUSINESS MODEL
COMP. ADVANTAGE
GROWTH
TARGETS
MARKET
CUSTOMER
GEOGRAPHIC
GO TO MARKET
DISTRIBUTION
SALES
MARKETING
