"Se manter firme no propósito é a única saída para seu negócio."
Nélio Wanderley
Strategic Inception can help companies anticipate and respond to changes in the business environment, as by regularly creating, revising and updating their strategy, companies can adapt to changing market conditions and capitalize on new opportunities.
With this we were able to set goals, define objectives and create a plan to achieve them, and the benefits obtained during the Strategic Inception in business planning include:
Clarity of vision: A well-defined strategy provides a clear direction for the company, which helps focus efforts and resources on a common goal.
Improved Decision Making: By having a clear strategy, companies can make decisions that align with their goals and objectives.
Increased competitiveness: A strong strategy can give the company a competitive advantage, differentiating it from its competitors and providing a clear direction for growth and development.
Efficient allocation of how to act in projects: Elaborate a plan that helps companies to obtain results more efficiently and effectively on the applied efforts, allowing them to reach their objectives with the maximum impact.
Better stakeholder engagement: A clear strategy can also help to engage stakeholders and build support for the company's vision, mission, and goals.
In addition, a well-executed strategy can improve motivation and engagement in the company. When people understand their role in achieving the company's goals and how their work contributes to the organization's overall success, they are more likely to feel motivated and engaged in their work.
Strategic Inception also allows companies to measure and track progress towards their goals. This helps ensure accountability and make necessary adjustments. Thus, having a clear strategy can also improve a company's reputation and attract potential investors and partners. A well-articulated strategy communicates the organization's commitment to growth and success, and demonstrates its ability to plan and execute effectively.
Soon after, I will share a facilitation performed by me from Strategic Inception over 5 days. For information security reasons and also because it contains sensitive company data, I will not be able to share some prints of this workshop, which was held online. My main purpose will be to share some dynamics that helped me a lot in facilitating and elaborating the strategic plan and to present, respectively, its importance.
Step 1: Know the environment
Normally, before facilitating, I try to learn more about the company's environment or the area in which the Strategic Inception will be applied. So I have a perception, even if superficial, about the existence of a communication problem between some people between the areas, if there is a culture (even if superficial) of monitoring the metrics. Another very important point is to map the key people and explain the functioning and importance of the Strategic Inception.
The main reason to find the right people to promote a Strategic Inception is to ensure its success and achieve the desired results with greater engagement. Strategic Inception is a critical stage in the development of an organization's strategy and requires a strong team to drive it forward. The following are some characteristics to consider when finding the right people to promote a Strategic Inception:
Leadership: The right people must possess strong leadership skills to guide the organization through the Strategic Inception process and ensure everyone is working towards a common goal.
Experience: Must have the necessary experience and knowledge in the areas being considered during the Strategic Inception. This includes an understanding of the organization's current goals, values and challenges.
Communication: Being able to communicate effectively, disseminating the vision and strategy to all stakeholders including employees, customers and partners.
Collaboration: Must be able to work collaboratively to overcome any challenges and ensure that everyone is aligned with the organization's goals and objectives.
Influence: Having influence to bring about change within the organization and ensure that the Strategic Inception is successfully implemented.
Mapping the right people for the promotion and engagement of Strategic Inception, the benefits achieved are:
Buy-in: The right people must be able to gain support and buy-in from all stakeholders, including employees, partners, and customers. This is essential to the success of Strategic Inception, as it requires a collective effort from everyone involved.
Flexibility: Are flexible and adaptable, as the Strategic Inception process can often involve changes as needed. They must be able to handle ambiguity and navigate changes with ease.
Problem Solving Skills: Help teams in developing strong problem solving skills and face any challenges. They are able to identify and resolve obstacles in a timely and effective manner.
Cultural fit: The right people must fit the organization's culture and values, working effectively within the organization's existing structures and processes.
Visionary thinking: They collaborate with a vision of the future and have an ability to think beyond the current status quo. They are able to identify new and innovative solutions to drive the organization forward.
What I observed during the Strategic Inception facilitations is that finding the right people to promote the SI (Strategic Inception) is a key factor for its success. The team must have a combination of leadership skills, experience, communication, collaboration, influence, buy-in, flexibility, problem solving, cultural fit and visionary thinking to drive the organization forward and achieve the desired results.
Step 2: Let's get started
With the key people identified, we started the process of sending the Strategic Inception invitations, containing the schedule for the days, and in my case I like to add the purpose in summary form for each item, the figure below shows a model of the schedule for 5 days (best case scenario).
In the invitation itself, it is interesting to inform the room, if it is in person, or the tool for online. An important point regarding the use of the tool online is to provide a tutorial (video, text) on how the person will handle the tool, mainly to access the room. Another factor is, if it is in person, providing the coffeebreak, which helps a lot in a moment of relaxation and interaction between people.
Step 3: Executing the Strategic Inception
When we started the Strategic Inception, it is important to map each expectation and concern of people, as it establishes a common understanding and a shared vision for the goals and objectives of the project. This alignment helps ensure that everyone involved in the project has a clear understanding of what is expected of them, what potential concerns or challenges may arise, and how to collaboratively and effectively address them. This can help minimize misunderstandings, conflicts and delays throughout the project, leading to a more successful outcome.
To explain further, aligning expectations and concerns is an important part of the Strategic Inception process. It is a collaborative workshop where a team comes together to define the goals, objectives and scope of a project. During this stage, the team identifies and discusses the project's potential risks, challenges, and concerns, as well as its expected results, deliverables, and schedule.
Having the expectation and concern stage aligned means that the team shares a common understanding of the project's goals, objectives, and potential risks or challenges. This alignment ensures that everyone is on the same page and understands what is expected of them throughout the project lifecycle.
For example, if the team is not aligned with expectations, there may be miscommunications or misunderstandings about deliverables or the project schedule, which can cause delays or conflicts. Likewise, if the team is not aligned on concerns, it may not be prepared to deal with possible risks or challenges that may arise, which can also cause delays or result in project failure.
Another important detail to be mentioned right at the beginning of the Strategic Inception is to make explicit the workshop agreements, which can bring several benefits, including:
Clarity: Explicit agreements can help clarify the goals and objectives of the Strategic Inception. This can help ensure that all parties involved have a shared understanding of what needs to be achieved.
Alignment: Clear agreements can help align the interests of different stakeholders and ensure that everyone is working towards the same end goal. This makes it possible to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings in the future.
Accountability: Explicit agreements can help establish clear lines of accountability and accountability. It helps ensure that everyone involved knows what is expected of them and is held accountable for fulfilling their commitments.
Risk Management: Clear agreements can help identify potential risks and challenges early, allowing them to be resolved before they become bigger issues. It reduces the probability of failure and increases the chances of success.
Overall, leaving explicit agreements for Strategic Inception can help lay a solid foundation for a successful strategic initiative by promoting clarity, alignment, accountability, and risk management.
A really cool practice to use is the "parking of ideas" or "Parking Lot" as it allows these ideas to be documented and stored for later consideration and evaluation. This prevents these ideas from getting lost or forgotten, and can also help ensure that they are more fully and carefully evaluated at a later time when more information is available or when it is more appropriate to consider them. In addition, a "parking lot" can encourage the contribution of ideas from the broader team, promoting innovation and creative thinking throughout the organization.
A nice tip for you that will make the Strategic Inception facilitation able to persuade people to accept putting your suggestions in the parking lot, are the following points:
Explain the benefits: The facilitator can clarify how putting suggestions in the parking lot can help ensure that all ideas are heard and considered, and that they are not lost or forgotten. It helps convince people that their ideas are still valued and will be evaluated at a more appropriate time.
Establish clear criteria: The facilitator can set clear criteria for what is appropriate for the parking lot and when suggestions will be considered again. It allows people to understand when it is appropriate to put ideas in the parking lot and when they can be considered again.
Demonstrate a receptive attitude: The facilitator can encourage an environment of collaboration and constructive feedback, which can encourage people to share their suggestions and ideas. Help build trust and create a sense of community around Inception.
Conduct regular reviews: The facilitator can schedule regular parking lot reviews to evaluate the stored suggestions and ensure they are considered when appropriate. This can help people see that their suggestions are being taken seriously and encourage them to continue to contribute in the future.
There are two dynamics in Strategic Inception that I really like and that help in the discussion of metrics and the elaboration of strategic planning. The first of these is the RAID array (Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies).
Now I'll explain more about the importance of RAID during Strategic Inception, and how it helps the team to identify and mitigate potential risks and issues that could affect the success of the project. In addition, the matrix also helps the team understand the assumptions being made and project dependencies that can affect project planning and execution.
Here are some more detailed reasons why building the Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies (RAID) matrix is important during Strategic Inception:
Identify and mitigate risks: Helps the team identify potential risks associated with the project and assess their likelihood and impact. The team can then take steps to mitigate these risks, minimizing their likelihood and/or impact.
Identify Assumptions: Helps the team identify the assumptions being made regarding the project, such as the availability of resources or the ability to deliver on time. Identifying these assumptions is important to avoid unexpected problems occurring later on when the assumptions may not materialize.
Identify and resolve issues: Helps the team identify potential issues that could affect the project and develop an action plan to resolve them. Identifying and resolving these issues early can help avoid delays or other more serious issues later in the project.
Identify dependencies: Helps the team identify project dependencies, such as needing other teams or vendors to deliver certain results. Identifying these dependencies is important to ensure the team has contingency plans in case the dependencies are not met.
My takeaway from using the Risks, Assumptions, Issues, and Dependencies matrix is that it becomes an important tool to help the team identify and mitigate potential issues and risks early in the project. Identifying these issues and risks early can help the team develop a solid plan to ensure project success.
The second dynamic that I really like is based on "Ikigai" (生き甲斐), which represents a Japanese word that means "reason for living" or "reason for existing". It is a concept that refers to finding a purpose in life and feeling satisfied and fulfilled with it.
"Ikigai" is often represented with an overlapping diagram of four circles that represent what you love, what the world needs, what you're good at, and what you can get paid for. The overlapping center of these four circles represents your "ikigai" - that is, the intersection between your passions, skills, what the world needs and what you can get paid to do.
The concept of "Ikigai" is considered important in Japanese culture, where people are often encouraged to find their purpose in life and develop a strong connection with their community and nature. It is believed that having an "Ikigai" can help provide a sense of meaning and purpose in life, as well as help prevent loneliness and depression.
Thus, "Ikigai" is a philosophy that seeks to integrate our passions, skills, what the world needs and what we can be paid to do, in pursuit of finding purpose in life and achieving personal satisfaction.
And bringing this concept to Strategic Inception, a model was developed to help people map out what their area or the company, in my case for this experience with a 5-day agenda involved the main areas of the company, its "reason for to live". The figure below shows the model used during the SI (Strategic Inception):
The concept of "Ikigai" can be useful in Strategic Inception to help the team develop a sense of purpose and motivation for the project at hand. Here are some benefits of using the concept of "Ikigai" in Strategic Inception:
Align team values with the project: By helping the team identify their passions and skills and link them to what the project is trying to achieve, it is possible to create a sense of alignment between the team's values and the project. Enables increased motivation and team commitment to the project.
Develop a Shared Understanding of the Project's Purpose: Working together to identify the project's "Ikigai" - i.e., why it exists - can help the team develop a shared understanding of what the project is seeking to achieve. This can help ensure that everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.
Improve creativity and innovation: "Ikigai" can help the team identify areas where they have passion and unique skills that they can apply in creative and innovative ways to the project. It helps the team develop unique solutions to problems and find new and effective ways to achieve project goals.
Foster resilience: Having a sense of purpose and meaning can help the team stay motivated and resilient in the face of challenges and obstacles throughout the project. This enables the team to stay focused on their goals and keep moving forward, even when they face difficulties.
The concept of "Ikigai" can be applied in Strategic Inception to help the team develop a sense of purpose and motivation around the project. This can help increase team alignment, creativity, and resilience, as well as promote a shared understanding of the project's purpose.
After applying these two dynamics that help to identify problems and risks in advance and that increase the shared understanding of the purpose of the project, I observed that people were able to review and adjust the Mission, Vision, Values and Principles of their respective areas. In addition to mapping the points of weakness, strength, opportunities and threats.
There is a very critical moment in Strategic Inception that involves the discussion of strategic objectives and portfolio mapping. At the beginning of the text, I emphasized the importance of the facilitator first understanding the company's environment and one of the reasons is precisely this. I could observe that many areas do not understand their role within the organization and cannot clearly and directly align what they hope to achieve within a given period as an objective.
Strategic Inception allows us to talk about this topic and help people to be clear about the area's objectives, of course aligned with the company's strategy, this helps to ensure that all areas are working together towards the same objectives, avoiding conflicts or competition unnecessary between areas.
In addition, by mapping the objectives of the areas during the Strategic Inception, it is possible to identify opportunities for collaboration between the areas, where they can work together to achieve common goals. This can lead to greater efficiency and innovation, as areas can share resources and expertise to achieve goals faster and more effectively. During facilitation we use the model below:
It is also important to highlight that, when mapping the objectives of the areas, it is possible to identify gaps in terms of skills and resources needed to achieve these objectives. This can help the company determine the training and development needs of its teams, as well as guide hiring decisions to fill specific gaps.
After the time to map and align the objectives, we began our efforts to review the portfolio, using the BCG matrix as a tool, a strategic analysis tool that classifies a company's products or services in a matrix that presents four categories: "Stars" , "Cash cows", "Question Marks" and "Dogs", based on their market share and growth potential.
Using the BCG matrix in Strategic Inception can have a significant impact, as it can help the company determine resource allocation and prioritize areas that have the greatest potential for growth and return. By using this tool, the company can identify which products or services are "Stars", that is, those with a high market share and high growth potential. These products or services can be prioritized for additional investment to maximize their growth potential.
On the other hand, the company can identify which products or services are "Dogs", those with low market share and low growth potential. These products or services can be eliminated or discontinued, allowing the company to redirect its resources to other more promising areas.
In addition, the BCG matrix can help the company determine which products or services are "cash cows", in other words, those that have a high market share but low growth potential.
Thus, the BCG matrix can also help the company to identify which products or services are "Question Marks", that is, those with low market share but high growth potential. These products or services may receive additional investment to maximize their growth potential, but the company needs to be prepared to take risks and uncertainties.
With this, it is possible during the facilitation to discuss the allocation of resources and prioritize the areas that have the greatest potential for growth and return, identifying which products or services should be maintained, invested, reduced or eliminated, thus generating the portfolio of the areas. Next, I show the model used during facilitation:
With all the information about the products and services listed, we move on to the next stage of the SI (Strategic Inception), which is related to the Market. At this stage, we identify where the product and service will operate within the market and which are aligned with the business. We also carried out a dynamic with the same purpose for the interested parties (stakeholders). However, at that moment, we took into account, in addition to the market in which the business operates, their needs for mapping.
After facilitating the mapping of stakeholders' needs, and aligning the portfolio of areas with the company's market, we enter into a theme that I believe is essential to demonstrate the evolution of the planning that is created during the week. That's why I remember the importance of understanding the scenario before running the workshop, because in this experience that I share, I first had to raise the possibility of the existence of a culture of metrics.
I noticed that there weren't, so I did a survey with the help of key people in the respective areas to align the metrics that made sense at that first moment and collect some data. I was able to obtain the history of some information and create an initial baseline for orienting ourselves based on the metrics.
So, in possession of such information, I did a series of workshops on OKR with people from the areas, with the intention of sharing the concept with everyone, since during the Strategic Inception we need this knowledge to elaborate the OKRs.
The purpose of the workshops is for people to understand the benefits of OKR for the company, such as:
Strategic Alignment: When creating the OKRs, the team can establish clear objectives and define specific key results that need to be achieved to achieve those objectives. This helps ensure that all teams and individuals are aligned with the overall company strategy and working towards the same goals.
Focus: OKRs help the team focus on important goals and key priorities, ensuring everyone is working on the right things. Helping to increase efficiency and productivity, and ensure the business is moving in the right direction.
Measuring Results: OKRs are measurable, meaning the team can track progress towards defined goals and make adjustments when necessary. In addition to ensuring that the company is constantly improving and achieving the desired results.
Transparency and accountability: By creating OKRs, the team can make them visible to everyone in the company, which can help promote transparency and accountability. Which can help ensure everyone is aware of the company's goals and working together to achieve them.
Continuous Improvement: Creating OKRs is an iterative, ever-evolving process. As the team works towards defined goals, they can learn and adjust their OKRs to ensure they are always working on the things that matter most and getting the best possible results. This makes it possible to promote a culture of continuous improvement in the company.
After signaling the metrics that will be used, we move on to the end of the Strategic Inception workshop. In it, we prepare the strategic plan that brings together all the information generated during the week to make clear the priority of strategic initiatives, signaled with their respective deadlines, market of operation and stakeholders. We also bring the metrics that will be used to monitor the initiatives.
Before finishing, I would like to point out how much it is necessary, during the workshop, to carry out a small retrospective at the end of the day so that you know what can be improved the next day. Another interesting point is to hold a showcase so that everyone in the company can become aware of the alignments generated in the Strategic Inception and find out about the agendas to monitor the evolution of everything that was planned, looking mainly at the metrics.
Well, I hope I have helped a little with this experience I had in facilitating a Strategic Inception and showing how essential this inception is for business planning and that it offers numerous benefits, in addition to helping companies achieve their aspirations, providing a framework for achieve your goals and continually evaluate and improve your approach to business.
Comments