The power of a clear strategy and three great outcomes

Strike up a conversation with a CEO or business leader about their weekend and it often involves their participation in competitive sports – marathons, cycling, swimming, golf, tennis etc. Most leaders are competitive, strive for excellence and push boundaries. They will explain in detail how preparing for a big race or tournament commences months in advance, often under the guidance of their personal trainer, about the crack support team they assemble for race day and the clear game plan they developed. Nothing is left to chance and no expense spared to achieve their Personal Best time or other goals.

Surprisingly, making the connection between how to have success on the track and traction in business is not always so straight forward. Many of the companies Checkside meet are searching for the right “personal trainer” and game plan to unlock the potential of their business and kick it into high gear.

For companies starting their financial year on 1^st July, big chunks of the next few months will be devoted to budget planning as companies focus on FY24 and grapple with the uncertainty of the business environment and economy. High performing companies will be refreshing their strategy during March to June to inform their budget and plans.

What is your process to prepare for FY24? What role does strategy play? Is strategy a process, a constant state-of-mind, a rhythm and a roadmap that unites your organisation around a common purpose, set of plans and moments to celebrate or re-evaluate progress? Give these points some consideration while you are next out training:

1. Strategic Alignment: investing the time to bring the senior leadership team together to create or refresh the strategy has these benefits:

• use all the brains and experience around the table to identify the issues, threats and opportunities for the new year
• challenge and update the underlying assumptions of the strategy
• learn lessons from the past year and avoid blind spots
• ensure full engagement of your team in the new plans
• agree on objectives and key results with accountability ascribed to develop an actionable plan; and
• motivate the leadership team around the company’s values and purpose so they have the narratives to do the same with their teams.

A study by Bain & Company found that companies with a clear, well-communicated strategy are 300% more likely to outperform their peers. (Source: “What Separates the Best Companies from the Rest,” Bain & Company)

2. Employee Engagement: not all companies have a clearly defined purpose / mission statement and values and those that do often struggle to connect it to their business strategy and the role of every employee in its successful execution. Having a clearly defined strategy unifies a company around a common “why” and “what” needs to be done to achieve it. In the war to attract and retain the best people, success or failure often rests in the way a company can articulate the role the current employees or new hires will play in the achievement of the company’s purpose and mission.

Organisations with a clear, inspiring vision and strategy have significantly higher levels of employee satisfaction and lower turnover rates. (Source: “The Impact of Leadership and Culture on Employee Satisfaction and Turnover,” Harvard Business Review)

3. Resource the Strategy: budgeting is the process of deciding where and where not to allocate financial resources to achieve an agreed financial result. This tension requires a clear strategy to guide the budgeting process so hard decisions can be made where the resources will create the greatest return for the organisation in the coming year or longer. When strategy directs the budget and organisational changes that are often necessary to keep companies competitive in this VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, Ambiguous) environment, a logical, cohesive and clear narrative can be communicated to all employees. A good strategy process includes thought around the key objectives, key results and KPIs to align around what is to be achieved, what to measure as lead and lag indicators and with individuals accountable and deadlines defined.

Companies with a clear, engaging strategy experience a 17% increase in employee engagement and a 19% increase in operating income. (Source: “The Power of Engagement,” McKinsey & Company)

If the thought of what the new financial year has in store for you (including getting your FY24 budgeting right!), or the three points outlined above pushed your resting heartbeat above 100 bpm then give Checkside a call.

Having a good “business trainer” to guide you, provide the process, tools and support and challenge you along the way is proven to generate a strong ROI and can get your resting heartbeat down to below 80 bpm.

Contact Checkside for a coffee and a conversation (click here)