Strategy Byte - Week 2 : Learning Framework

Recap

Last week we started with the question - What is Strategy? A vast topic like strategy itself requires a strategy to navigate it's depths & we need a framework to take us through each part without losing sight of the whole.

The Framework

When we go on a journey, we use a map to direct us to our destination.

Like a map, we need a framework which we will use to explore the subject of strategy without getting lost. I mentioned in one of my Byte of Blockchain blogs that the subject of Blockchain fascinates me because it is a confluence of various topics & in trying to understand Blockchain, we have to explore other topics like coding, economics etc.

Similarly, when trying to understand strategy, we have to explore a multitude of topics. But how to link these topics together?

I used a framework for this. When I was reading books on strategy or listening to podcasts, I could sense a pattern where concepts could be grouped as below :

1. Concepts on Leadership
2. Concepts Internal to company
3. Concepts External to company
4. Measurement

Why the above & not something else? This is the best I could think of to tie high level concepts together in understanding strategy.

Concepts on Leadership

In any organization, it is the CEO who initiates & drives the organizational strategy with the help of his/her management team. So what qualities should the CEO or the management team have with regard to having a vision, direction & execution capabilities to drive strategy?

1. Vision
2. Direction
3. Execution

Concepts Internal to Company

Any strategy implementation involves changes within the organization under three categories :

1. People
2. Process
3. Systems

What needs to change within the organization to ensure strategic objectives are achieved? Does it involve revamping processes / systems or changing the org structure or both?

Concepts External to Company

A strategy cannot be created or implemented in isolation. Any strategy implementation requires us to look outside the company under the below three categories:

1. Customers
2. Markets
3. Partners

Measurement

No strategy is complete if progress towards achievement cannot be measured & tracked. This is where the CFO partners with the CEO to measure progress in achieving the company's strategy & relevant KPIs are designed keeping in mind underlying business drivers.

The below topics are relevant to measure strategy :

1. Business Drivers
2. KPIs
3. Financial Statements

Each of the above topic is an ocean in itself. But we have some framework to link them under the overall umbrella of strategy.

The image below provides a gist of the framework

It is not that each topic is in a silo by itself. Everything is linked to each other to make the whole more than the sum of the parts. We will explore each part separately or link it with others depending on the concept being discussed.

So with this framework in mind, let us go down the rabbit hole of strategy.