3 blind spots, bias & bravado – a toxic combination

Navigate the FutureTM

“Blind Spots, Bias & Bravado – A Toxic Combination”

Issue 3 - Volume 3Fall 2011

Executive Report on Leadership & Business Strategy

As we watch organizations attempt to understand and cope with the demands

of a rapidly changing environment, we are struck by how often senior leaders are

frustrated by the inadequacy of their current strategy. They express a queasy feeling

their strategy somehow seems to fall short of what is necessary to actually meet the

challenges of the moment.

In short, we see a lot of bad strategy. We agree with Dr. Richard P. Rumelt of The

Anderson School of Management at UCLA. Many organizations operate with a

primitive understanding of what strategy really is, what it means and what it can

achieve. As he suggests, there are too many organizations confusing bold ambition

with good strategy. They make great pronouncements to the market, their customers

and their employees about how they will be the biggest “this” or the greatest “that”,

but those pronouncements are not strategy.

We believe it’s time to make different choices. We see the demise of charisma and

bravado as the fuel for energizing strategy. In its place, we see the rise of candour,

coherence and courage, combined with a conviction to overcome blind spots, eliminate

biases and get to the truth.

In our view, it begins with identifying some hallmarks of bad strategy.

• An abundance of fl uff, exaggeration and hyperbole

• Failure to address the core challenges or wicked problems

• Mistaking cascading goals and detailed objectives for strategy

• Setting weak objectives that do not change the fundamental condition

Yours truly,

R. Douglas WilliamsonPresident & C.E.O.

In Our View ...

Developing coherent, game changing strategic plans, and setting a clear, bold,

long-term direction, have long been considered the highest priority and responsibility

of senior executives. Unfortunately, two questions come to mind in the midst of the

current economic conundrum.

First - How effective is the strategic planning process?

Second - What gets in the way of improving both the process and the outcome?

We don’t believe most organizations would, objectively, receive Top Grade for their

strategy. There are very few Apples or IKEAs, but is there really a good reason why

the rest of us cannot achieve that same dominating level of credibility? The answer

is that most strategies may be good enough to get by, but they are not good enough

to differentiate, to set the pace and to dominate the space. In other words, they are

not strategies at all, rather a collection of tactical goals and objectives, conveniently

clustered together under a banner called a Strategy.

Strategy setting, when taken seriously, should be about the clear identifi cation of

the “wicked problems” a company needs to address to gain a competitive advantage,

and then a declaration of intent to tackle them in a focused way. In other words, it

begins with the identifi cation of a compelling, perhaps chronic problem or anomaly

that needs to be resolved – now!

By its very nature, a strategy setting discussion is an argument, a point of view. It

should, in fact, attract criticism and maybe even ridicule. It should destroy old ideas,

paradigms and beliefs. In order to build a great strategy, there has to be vibrant

debate. If the objective is to craft superior strategy, then there is a desperate need

for greater honesty in the discussions surrounding it.

Encouraging Strategic Honesty ...

Whether you love him or hate him, there is little doubt Jack Welch was a great success

as the C.E.O. of General Electric. He is even better known today for his views, opinions

and pronouncements on leadership. One of the most compelling statements he has

ever made is on the lack of candour in organizations or what he calls “superfi cial

congeniality”. In his books and speeches on this subject, he talks about the harm done

when organizations fail to be brutally honest with themselves.

Strategy is serious business. It deserves total candour. Candour must be encouraged,

developed, modelled, supported and rewarded. Unfortunately, we don’t know of

too many cultures where that really is the case and it may be fewer today than

two years ago.

We think inferior or bad strategy generally has something to do with a lack of

willingness to be honest about the fundamental strategic challenges. It is a confl ict

avoidance tendency. A belief in pumping up assets and good news, rather than

admitting liabilities and sharing the bad news. This defi cit in thinking and behaviour

reveals itself as a failure to state the worst fears or admit the underlying challenge. It

is the inability to call out the primary challenge and ask people to rally around solving

it. All too often, the tendency is to strive for a beautifully concocted, vanilla coated

form of consensus that may feel good, but which generally does not produce superior

results or competitive advantage.

In our view, no matter how painful the worst truth is, it is still better than the best lie.

Building a Culture of Candour ...

Identifying the Pivot Points ...

Military and political history are full of examples in which a leader (often against all

odds) has used a set of bold strategies to out manoeuvre the opposition. In almost all of

these cases, victory came because there was a particular moment at which the leader

made a critical decision that, in retrospect, became the evident and eventual pivot

point. A deciding action that shifted the momentum and placed the organization on a

course for victory.

So it is with business strategy.

These pivot points are not accidental or random decisions. They are deliberate, defi ning

moments of unique and disproportionate advantage. They arise because there was a

decision made to focus the effort of the organization in an extraordinary manner on

a single outcome or “bet”. This focus is what provides the necessary leverage to tip the

scales. In business, we are not particularly good at the kind of singular focus needed

to take advantage of these pivot points. It seems we have a need to mitigate all of the

risks associated with the big decision. As a result, we never quite make the commitment

necessary to take full advantage. In other words, we hedge our “bets”, rather than

aggressively exploiting opportunity.

One of the reasons we do is this is because we are constantly searching for a full

understanding and perfect balancing of all the variables, before we act. While this might

be an appropriate course if we want mediocrity - it is not the way in which organizations

come to dominate their space or change the course of history.

The point here is that strategy should be a choice – a clear, crisp deliberate choice – and,

as such, should receive a disproportionate amount of our attention, focus, effort and

resources. In order to be effective, the entire organization must have a laser beam focus

on a particular course of action, the foundation of which lies at the very farthest reaches

of our understanding.

There is a huge and important difference between strategy, in the way we are talking

about it here, and the goals, objectives and tactics we see in most Strategic Plans.

We believe this important difference is not well understood. As a result, we can fi nd

ourselves being easily seduced into calling something a Strategy when it is not.

Put simply, strategy should be about problem solving. It should be about identifying

the most diffi cult, thorny, “wicked” problem and deciding to apply maximum attention

and effort to it. It requires the courage to acknowledge the problem in the fi rst place,

to shine the bright light of attention on it and must be combined with the will to make

it the center of everything that is done.

First - it takes a proactive, candour-seeking leader to help the organization

take the fi rst step of “admission” or acknowledgement. In many cases, this fi rst

step never occurs, simply because the leaders and the organization are afraid

to work hard enough to dig out the weak points and put them on the table.

Second - it’s kind of like the old saying, “ignorance is bliss”. So many executive

teams do not seem willing to have the necessary, sometimes painful, exploratory

discussions to fi nd the deeply hidden “secret”. They hope by avoiding it, or

pretending it is not there, that maybe it will just go away.

Finally - there is the question of the ruthless, deliberate focus necessary to take

advantage of the pivot point, which is only an advantage if you fi nd it in the

fi rst place. When you do, you then have to be willing to devote everything you

have to resolving it quickly and boldly.

The best strategic discussions should be about how best to get “unstuck”.

Strategy as Problem Solving ...

There is a unique aroma that comes with the sensing of an opportunity. It is part

adrenaline, part fear and part excitement. It is the same emotional high that comes

with being close to inevitable victory in a sporting match. It is the point at which

everything slows down, your vision becomes crystal clear and the necessary effort

seems effortless, because you can taste victory.

In business, these moments are rare. They may be found, for example, in the thrill

of an acquisition, but seldom are they part of the organization’s DNA on a day-to-

day basis. The strategic challenge is to create these same “highs” by channelling

the organization’s adrenaline on a common cause that replicates the emotion

of anticipation. Because these unique opportunities lie at the very edge of our

understanding and tend to present themselves at inconvenient moments, it becomes

easy to “take a pass”. Good strategy never allows that to happen!

These are exactly the strategic infl ection points that Andy Grove at Intel spoke about

years ago. They are the pivot points that create the disproportionate advantage that

allow an organization to dominate an opportunity and shape it in their own way, to

the distinct disadvantage of their competitors. This kind of strategic opportunism

is very seldom logical and there is usually no precedent. All of this is exactly what

makes it so important the opportunity be converted into a clear, focused strategy.

Opportunity sensing is about taking advantage of the anomalies. Opportunity

sensing is about staking a claim on an unknown piece of land. Opportunity sensing

is knowing, in your bones, that what you are about to do just feels right.

It is the organizations that can get comfortable with this line of thinking that will be

able to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the disequilibrium in which

we all fi nd ourselves today.

Opportunity Sensing ...

Leading an organization is never easy, let alone in times of uncertainty. The only

way to help ease the pressure and the stress as you accelerate out of the corner,

is to ensure everything you do and say adds layers of coherence to an uncertain

situation. The very best leaders are able to connect the dots in such a way as to

enable others to see a more complete picture of the future and through that gain

confi dence and commitment.

In order to provide coherence, the leader must dramatically and permanently turn

down the noise level in the organization, eliminate any unnecessary distractions and

banish the fear of uncertainty. This is best accomplished by reducing the wide scope

of attention and committing to a narrower, sharper set of strategic imperatives.

In other words, banishing all the extraneous activities in order to dedicate the

organization on a singular focus.

In order to get your organization properly coordinated in time and space, you

need to hone the focus such that no matter how far in the future you are looking,

the picture is still clear and not clouded by the frivolous or the unimportant. It is

amazing how often organizations allow themselves to become trapped by adding

unnecessary layers of complexity on top of far too many priorities mixed in with pet

projects and diversions. It’s a recipe for underachievement.

Focus is a choice. By defi nition, it means choosing one thing over another. The

problem is, this trade-off is often forgotten rather than being the “quid pro quo” for

making a strategic choice. As a result, the buried mole eventually raises its head and

the organization diminishes the benefi ts of relentless focus by continuing to allow

it to roam the halls.

Value of Coherence ...

Curious isn’t it – how so many tough minded executives still have trouble saying

“No”? This is especially perplexing since the ability to say “No” is among the most

important elements of good strategy and is essential to the ability to execute the

strategy. Strategy, by its very nature, is the imposition of rules to guide actions,

frame decisions and make choices.

Good strategy requires the ability to say “No” to those things that get in the way

of total focus.

The ability to say “No”, to call off wasteful energy draining initiatives, to abandon

those activities that are peripheral to the mission, is a critical discipline and a

key competency of the strategic leader. The fact is, any good strategy involves

trade-offs, choosing one course of action over another. It’s when we allow the lines

to blur or overlap that we get into trouble. We send mixed signals, we misallocate

resources and we add fuel to the silo mentality of turf protection.

Strategy is about magnifying the effort of the organization to pursue an ambitious

objective. In order to do so, we have to make the hard black and white decisions that

clear the path for total commitment. In too many organizations, there is a belief that

by somehow dividing or spreading our efforts, we are hedging our bets and reducing

risk. We would argue just the opposite. Allowing too many priorities to fl ourish,

allowing too many executives or departments to put their agenda fi rst effectively

starves the most important things of oxygen. As a result, it actually increases the

risk of total failure or suboptimal performance because the full force and weight of

effort is not committed to what really matters.

Benefi ts of Saying “No” ...

Quite frankly, we are shocked by how often leaders feel the need to nail a fancy

slogan above their strategic plan. It is as though they believe it is necessary to wrap

the strategy in a few simplistic emotional words to galvanise the organization, to

help make it understood by the masses. Why not just make the strategy simple to

understand in the fi rst place?

• Strategy is not a syrupy slogan.

• Strategy is a bold intention.

The quality of a strategy should not be judged by the complexity of the arguments or

the way in which they are beautifully packaged into dense PowerPoint presentations.

All too often, this is nothing more than a fancy masquerade - an attempt to

demonstrate a level of superior expertise and depth of analysis which, in its very

complexity, reveals its false promise. There is no place for fl uff and illusion in a good

competitive strategy.

Leaders need to overcome the intellectual temptation to embroider the strategy.

Instead, they must reduce the levels of ambiguity and complexity by forcing the

organization to concentrate on the core and tune out any extraneous noise. There is

great beauty in simplicity. We would argue that simplicity adds coherence to the plan

and, as a result, allows greater fl exibility in striving to reach the optimal outcome.

Leaders have to be fully alert and relentlessly attentive to the ill-considered

propositions that are put forward, usually based on the most fl imsy of evidence

and elaborately concocted arguments. It is about focus, relentless focus. This can

only occur when the culture proves itself willing to eliminate light weight fl uff

masquerading as important strategy.

Eliminating Fluff ...

Over the past several years, the swamp has drained and the hidden rocks should

now be visible. What better time to declare war on the things that don’t really

matter. Instead, we still fi nd organizations hunkered down for survival, not rising

appropriately to the challenge at hand.

It is as though the greater the uncertainty and instability in the market, the less

willing leaders actually are to stare down the “devils” within their own organization.

The less willing they are to deal with the things holding them back and getting in

the way. The less candour they have to tackle the issues that make a real difference.

Strategy is ultimately about developing a radically new point of view. A new way of

looking at the world and defi ning success. Opportunity arises as these viewpoints

shift, affording you the opportunity to destabilize and disorient the competition.

Here is a list of pointers to help get you started.

Dig Deeper - Much Deeper

If your resolve is to get straight answers to the “wicked problems” hidden just

beneath the surface, the search will depend on how willing you are to do the

heavy lifting necessary to fi nd them. Begin by making sure you have selected the

right people to help you think, probe and discover and provide them with the

necessary air cover they need and deserve

Ask Tougher Questions

Mining for the hidden issues, dilemmas and incongruities lurking in your

organization will require more penetrating questions than you have ever been

asked before. The questions need to be questions of exploration. Questions

focused on the unknown territories - and you have to be prepared to follow the

line of thought, no matter where it takes you.

Steps to Take :: Actions to Consider

Check the Numbers

In this new world of hypercompetition, you will need to change how you analyze

the conditions. This means examining the data you have in hand in new and more

interesting ways. Then, just to add another level of tension, you will need to seek

out new information from new places and in new combinations.

Call it Out

Organizations tend, over time, to take on the characteristics of their leader. If

there is a meaningful shift to be made in the way strategy is conceived, then the

leader will have to model new behaviours. This very likely means an overt, visible

commitment to calling out the superfi cial arguments that do not hold water and

putting an end to the timid, evasive responses to the tougher questions. Raise the

bar. Increase the standards. Demand better.

Ensure Ample Air Cover

It is a fact of human nature we can become easily distracted when we allow

our minds to wander. At the organizational level this is multiplied several times

and, very soon, we have a complex maze of confl icting, opinions, priorities and

messages. The trick is to eliminate the excuses people use to divert their energy

and attention. Sharpen up the messaging. Simplify the strategy.

Go Big or Go Home

Business is about balancing risk with market need and opportunity. As we have

been forced back onto our heels by recent economic events and circumstances,

many have tried to lessen the risk by reducing their fi eld of vision. They have

justifi ed a hunker down strategy by promoting it as the safest thing to do. Strategy

is an offensive weapon. Get out of the bunker and get back in the game.

We are a Canadian-based professional services fi rm supporting clients throughout North

America and around the world. We work with organizations in all sectors and industries in

the development of their business strategies and in helping them leverage their investment

in human capital.

Our goal is to support senior leadership teams in their efforts to:

Optimize - strategic positioning and market opportunities

Maximize - long-term organizational effectiveness

Develop - leadership competency and fi tness

Create - superior levels of performance

Our practice is divided into four main areas of expertise:

Strategy | Culture | Talent | Leadership

When integrated, this broadly based expertise provides our clients with a comprehensive

Organizational Health and Business Performance System.

The Beacon Group is ...

TALENTTALENT ASSESSMENT &

PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT

P E R F O R M A N C E + P OT E N T I A L

MAXIMIZING ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH &

IMPROVING BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

ORGANIZATIONAL TRANSFORMATION & EFFECTIVENESS

TALENT IDENTIFICATION & DEVELOPMENT

LEADERSHIPMANAGEMENT TRAINING &LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT

D E S I G N + D E L I V E R Y

CULTUREORGANIZATIONAL &

CULTURAL ASSESSMENT

E N G A G E M E N T + F I T N E S S

STRATEGYSTRATEGIC THINKING &

PLANNING

F A C I L I AT I O N + D I A L O G U E

We believe ... mindset, attitude, character and behaviour matter. It is vitally important

to be clear, consistent and authentic. This is especially true when serving as a “trusted

partner” to the organizations who work with us.

We commit ... in all aspects of our client relationships, to being:

Progressive - forward thinking, ambitious and pragmatically radical

Thought Leaders - innovative, audacious and imaginatively bold

Passionate - loving what we do and creating passion in others

Customer Driven – dedicated, involved and fully committed

Responsive - fast acting, intense and able to anticipate

Agile - enthusiastic, nimble, adaptive and courageous

Our ApproachWe support ... progressive leaders and ambitious organizations in developing relevant

Business Performance and Human Capital strategies that have an immediate impact.

We partner ... with them to create and implement robust strategies, solid frameworks

and pragmatic solutions, allowing them to lead with confi dence and deliver results.

We achieve ... this through a commitment to:

Providing - a comprehensive, integrated set of organizational effectiveness tools

Focusing - on building customized solutions to meet performance challenges

Supporting - mission-driven leaders with their transformational agendas

Appealing - to those with a pragmatic, no nonsense approach

Executing - our work with punch, panache and know-how

Delivering - results that make a difference

Our Core Values

3 blind spots, bias & bravado – a toxic combination

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