Recently, I came across this piece – Don’t Let Strategy Become Planning – from Roger Martin. I recommend reading it. If you do not wish to make the time then this post is for you.
Strategy is not planning, it is an integrated set of choices
Strategy is not planning – it is an integrated set of choices that collectively position the firm in its industry so as to create sustainable advantage relative to competition and deliver superior financial returns. Obviously you can’t execute a strategy without initiatives, investments, and budgeting. But what you need to get managers focused on before you start on these things is the strategy that will make these initiatives coherent.
Strategy is singular: there is only one strategy for a given business
..strategy is a singular thing; there is one strategy for a given business – not a set of strategies. It is one integrated set of choices: what is our winning aspiration; where will we play; how will we win; what capabilities need to be in place; and what management systems must be instituted?
What has this to do with being customer-centric or customer experience?
If we stand in this framework, then it occurs to me that the customer-centric orientation as put forth by Don Peppers and/or customer experience are relevant if and only if the answer to the question “How will we win?” is “through being customer-centric and/or delivering a great customer experience”.
Looking at what is so, it occurs to me that the majority of companies have a business strategy whose answer to the question “How will we win?” is “not by being customer-centric nor by crafting/delivering a great customer experience.”
What do you think?
