Running a business can be a lot like riding a roller coaster – long spells of a slow grind uphill to meet the daily demands, with short bursts at breakneck speed to meet customer deliverables and internal commitments.
Neither of these phases are conducive to generating new insights to strengthen the business. Therefore, from time to time, it is essential that we step back and ask ourselves some critical questions and most importantly find the strategic answers.
In our consulting and workshop facilitation practice we have seen the power of leadership teams in workshop settings generating breakthrough ideas. They create clarity about how to increase competitiveness and improve operational effectiveness, which can lead to better financial outcomes.
For a couple of decades, we have facilitated strategic planning sessions to plot a road map to success. We still conduct our Strategic Framework Program because there is no substitute for a clear strategic direction to guide an organization.
But we have also found there are times when leadership teams can benefit from a deeper dive into their organization’s situation; one that results in a Priority-based Action Plan.
We therefore built a program to do just that. Our Strategic Business Review is the result of a need to provide clients with a productive method of conducting a deep dive into their business situation. We have an approach that is both rigorous and comprehensive but can be done within a condensed amount of time. We use the Business Model Canvas to guide the review process. It was developed by Strategyzer. The Business Model Canvas is part of their series of resources designed to support innovation through new business models. I am a strong supporter of their approach.
We use the Business Model Canvas as a visual guide to ensure that every aspect of an organization’s current performance is considered, in order to identify practical changes that need to occur. The changes may fall short of being transformational, but they can be truly impactful. Not every business is up for a wholesale change in its operating model. But most companies can benefit from a rigorous review of their business situation to fix the most pressing issues.
In the six-step Strategic Business Review, a leadership team will:
- Examine the value (products/services) we bring to our customer segments
- Consider the relationships our customers expect and the channels through which they can be reached
- Assess our revenue streams and their contribution to total revenue
- Identify the Key Activities, Key Resources and Key Partners that are necessary to have an effective business
- Assess our cost structure and the implications for profitability
- Build a Priority-Based Action Plan
A detailed description of the program can be downloaded.
Should you consider a Strategic Business Review?
- Do you have a sense that your business is doing ok but could be working smarter?
- Do you have uncertainty about whether you are maximizing your revenue streams?
- Are there likely unidentified ways to improve the cost structure of the business?
- Would taking 12 hours within a 10 day period, with your leadership team, be useful if it resulted in ideas that can deliver bottom-line results?
If you answered yes to these questions, it might be time to get off the roller coaster for a few hours and build a Priority Based Action Plan.
A Note about our Virtual Workshops
Our workshop practice has gone virtual, which makes the experience different but still effective.
Instead of an extended process over more than a day, we now organize half-day sessions, with everyone participating individually from their computers. This is not your usual Zoom call. Everyone generates ideas, physically posts notes, and does the other activities on a white board that one would do in a in-person workshop.
Strategic Framework Program for Associations
The one concession we have made to the virtual world is to limit workshop groups to 8 participants. In this way we can ensure everyone is engaged, focused and productive.
We recommend doing multiple sessions within a 10-day period.
A short call with Andrew Hewat might be a good first step to consider if this would be good for you. We would love to hear from you. Get in touch by email – andrew@hewatstrategic.com