RUN
WITH THE Big dogS™ newsletter
Volume 3, issue 21
Partnerships can be an effective way
to extend an organization's effectiveness. Are you getting it off to a
proper start?...John
Management idea
Our client has been tracking a new
technology for a decade. The running joke every year was that the
technology would hit in five years, a prediction that was echoed every
year for a decade. It didn't make sense to commit to the new
technology while the impact was uncertain and the expensive capital
equipment became outdated every couple of years. On
the other hand, the market could suddenly shift to the new technology
with devastating effect.
The ideal strategic approach was to
keep close to the market and rely on a partnership with one of the
technology pioneers. They would bring technical expertise and
credibility while our client would bring their market leadership. To
accelerate the success of the partnership they brought the principals of
both organizations together for an intensive strategic planning process.
They established partner
expectations, reached a common understanding and prioritization of
common issues, clarified each other's vision and mission and agreed on a
common strategy by painting a shared image of where they wanted to be
within five years. From the shared picture they identified major
milestones and three one year strategic goals, each with 4-6 key result
measures with accountable individuals.
The
key result measures provided a focus for the the ongoing actions and a
starting point for effective communications. A quick phone call to
the accountable individual would let you know where we were, why we were
there, and what actions we were taking to get/keep on track. That
alignment of expectations and communications proved to be a winning
combination.
RUN
WITH THE BIG DOGS™
Every
week the strategic planning facilitators of Myrna
Associates interact with the executive teams of the best managed
mid-sized companies in America.
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