Technique 2.12 Test Your Organisation's Strategy(ies)
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Answer the following questions to help identify "a sense of urgency" and test the appropriateness of your current strategies
1 What does the playing field look like now?
. Who are the competitors in this business, large and small, new and old?
. Who has what share in each market? Where does your organisation fit in the market?
. What are the characteristics of this business? Is it commodity or high-value or somewhere in between? Is it in a long or short cycle? Where is it on the growth curve (S-curve)? What are the drivers of profitability?
. What are the strengths and weaknesses of each competitor? How good are their products? How much does each one spend on R&D? How big is each sales-force? How performance-driven is each culture?
. Who are this business's main customers and how do they buy?
2 What has the competition been up to?
. What has each competitor done in the last year to change the playing field?
. Has anyone introduced game-changing new products, new technologies, or a new distribution channel, or upgraded staff?
. Are there any new entrants, and what have they been up to in the past year?
3 What has your organisation/division been up to?
. What have you done in the past year to change the competitive playing field?
. Have you bought a company, introduced a new product, stolen a competitor's key salesperson, or licensed a new technology from a startup?
. Have you lost any competitive advantages that you once had - a great salesperson, a special product, a proprietary technology?
4 What's around the corner?
. What would scare you most in the year ahead
. What one or two things could a competitor do to nail you?
. What new products or technologies could your competitors launch that might change the game?
. What deals, such as a M&A, could knock you off your feet?
5 What's your winning move?
. What can you do to change the playing field - is it an acquisition, a new product, geographical expansion?
. What can you do to make customers stick to you more than ever before and more than to anyone else?
(source: Jack Welch, et al 2005)
