Our Model: Where Meets Execution Creation Strategic Planning Execution Strategic Thinking Building Implementation & Transformation Daily Management BMGI Together, anything is possible. + Execution Your People + Our People Lasting Results BMGI s Business Model The model places equal emphasis on the creation and execution of strategy, recognizing that the role of Strategic Planning is to translate strategy into action. Maybe you already have a well-defined strategy (which would make you the exception), but need help executing. Maybe your strategy demands a transformational effort. Maybe it s time to rethink your strategy entirely. The important thing is that success is typically elusive when all elements of strategy are not given their due. Creation Execution
Strategic Thinking Research, Data Analysis & Incubation Time Strategic Thinking means developing deep insights into every aspect of your business. It demands the allocation of time and resources, but measuring the return on that investment is a challenge. If you believe that old maxim, we manage what we measure, you quickly conclude that most organizations fail at managing Strategic Thinking because they don t know how to measure it. Too often companies focus much more on execution which is easy to measure at the expense of Strategic Thinking. This is a fool s errand. Countless experts and academicians agree. They tell us that the need for greater Strategic Thinking is of great urgency. The question, then, is what can we do about it? First, we must recognize Strategic Thinking as something very different from Strategic Planning. Most companies have some kind of Strategic Planning process while very few have a Strategic Thinking process. Strategic Planning is about turning the choices that form your strategy into an actionable plan. Those choices are made as you are Building, which, in turn, is informed by the insights born of your Strategic Thinking. Second, we must employ a robust process that engages your team in thinking through the future of your business. During Strategic Thinking, we partner with your leadership team to saturate all of our minds (yours and ours), consuming information through research and data analysis while allowing ample time to incubate. Only through adherence to a strict regimen of saturation and incubation will we ultimately achieve illumination. In the end, we ll create insights new and unique ways of looking at your business, your customers and your competitive environment that will help you validate your current strategy or define a new path entirely. The main problem identified by the majority of senior executives was strategic thinking. Our senior executives tend to get carried away by details and lose their strategic perspective. It is a major challenge to get our decision makers to think in strategic, rather than operational, terms. From Developing Strategic Thinking as a Core Competency, by Ingrid Bonn
Building Scenario Development, Selection & Prioritization The essence of business is the achievement of some purpose for some stakeholder. In most cases, that means delivering a profit for shareholders, but not always. Government and not-for-profit organizations are primarily mission-based, but they are still geared toward the delivery of some outcome for one or more stakeholders. Process 1. Do you have a documented strategy? 2. Is it clearly shared throughout the organization? 3. Is it an enduring strategy, or something that changes often? 4. Is it understood by everyone in the company? 5. Do you have the necessary level of detail to execute it? Overall 1. Can you articulate your strategy in two or three sentences? 2. When I ask, who is [insert company name], how do you answer? 3. Can you describe your market category the market you compete in? 4. What is your fundamental basis of competition? BMGI s Sample Initial Questions In all cases, businesses are responsible for the allocation and direction of scarce resources used to achieve their purpose. That allocation and direction of scarce resources means one thing: Choices must be made. Choice is the essence of Building. Based on the insights developed by strategic thinkers, Building begins with the creation of a portfolio of potential futures, sometimes referred to as scenarios. Through a disciplined process of potential scenario development and analysis, we ultimately hone in on one or more scenarios that satisfy our future needs based on a set of established criteria that can include, but certainly are not limited to, everything from risk or probability to moral values to the simple desires of key stakeholders or business leaders. The process of Building also often includes creating a number of foundational elements, such as vision and mission statements, or a statement of purpose, guiding principles, core values and other such elements that may be used from time-to-time to steer an organization along its path to success. There is no one-size-fits-all approach.
Strategic Planning Translating into Action Strategic Planning is essentially the translation of strategy into an action plan. Most organizations lack a way to connect their strategy with the resources they already have to effectively execute. To bridge the gap, we bring together the people developing strategy, usually the executive team, with a broader range of staff that will have to live the plan. While Strategic Thinking is something that happens continuously and Building is something that happens from time-to-time, often with years in between, Strategic Planning is done with regularity, most often on an annual basis. It is a time for schedules, the assignment of specific accountability and a fair amount of problem solving to deal with real-world practicalities. Strategic Planning is also a time for push back from the rest of the organization which may lead to adjustments to the overall strategy to ensure it is actually achievable. Reduce across-the-board expense Reduce customer complaints Increase customer loyalty Deploy Performance Excellence improvement methodologies Increase number of new interactive packing customer accounts Achieve 25% market share of the new digital packaging service Grow total revenue by $75 million Reduce all process waste by 40% using sustainable impr. methodologies Annual Objectives HOSHIN PLANNING MATRIX (X-MATRIX) Top-Level Improvement Priorities Target to Improve 3-5 Year Breakthrough Objectives Achieve world-class quality production as certified by Malcolm Baldrige standards by the end of 2017 Achieve 50% market share of the new digital packaging service by the end of 2018 Grow total revenue by $250 million with an EBITDA of 18% by the end of 2019. Increase active distribution channels by 6 Achieve 20% of incremental revenue growth from new customer accounts Implement Performance Excellence in all 8 business units Reduce COPS by $2 million Reduce customer complaint calls by 50% Reduce overusage factors by 25% Increase number of customers with contracts longer than 5 years to 40% Jim Gruber Dave Nies Nancy Beckley RESOURCES Primary Responsibility Secondary Responsibility Jack Speers During Strategic Planning, we BMGI s X-Matrix work with your team using the Hoshin Planning process (sometimes referred to as the X-matrix ) to establish a well-ordered, metric-driven plan. Success here demands a balanced, peer-to-peer level of engagement between strategic thinkers and the operators of your business. The expert facilitation we deliver ensures a smooth process and an outcome that delivers results. In the end, your entire organization becomes involved in everything from the generation of new ideas to a pragmatic and executable approach to bringing those ideas to life.
Implementation & Transformation Operational Excellence, Project Management & Innovation Implementation & Transformation is at the core of executing your strategic plan. This means building in structured methods for how you will manage the organization to achieve the short- and long-term goals. Success here requires involvement at all levels of the organization. Performance Level S E T W N S 4-8 weeks 6-10 weeks 1-2 weeks (each SCORE) In perpetuity Time elect xpand arget E A I ssess nnovate M aterialize BMGI s Breakthrough Transformation S C O R E elect larify rganize un valuate W atch I N nvestigate ormalize Companies may only need one or the other implementation or transformation or they may need both. The distinction lies in the degree of change to be experienced over the course of the one-year strategic plan. For example, three or four years into a new strategy, a company may be very focused on staying the course, merely making minor adjustments to what it already does. Traditional process improvement generally fits the bill in this case. However, oftentimes bigger change is in order and that change is better characterized as a transformation than mere implementation of a plan. Transformation entails paradigm-shifting alterations to the way things are done quantum leaps in performance, culture change and adjustments to the organizational structure. Some change can seem quite radical at the time. Implementation demands effective project management skills, Lean and Six Sigma tools, kaizen events, and the application of a broad range of other tools and methods as may be necessary. Transformation demands innovation, robust change management and a certain degree of risk taking. Either way, Implementation & Transformation is a key aspect of ensuring your strategic plan is being executed by the entire organization.
Daily Management Metrics, Standardized Work & Basic Problem Solving Daily Management is about ensuring that whatever plan we have implemented is both effective and sustainable. From process and people to time and projects, what needs to happen each day to ensure those guiding principles created during your strategy development come into plan? These daily decisions are based on data and experience, combining the simplicity and power of KPIs with the knowledge of your workforce. Through standard work and process improvement management, your daily managers will actually be making strategy happen. Through basic problem solving methods, such as kaizen events, they will involve their whole teams in improving the way everyone operates every day. Daily Management also includes taking corrective action when something isn t working. Sometimes it means forcing a problem back up the chain because some evidence is telling us that something about our strategy doesn t make sense. Perhaps an assumption was wrong, or a market condition has changed. Daily managers are our eyes and ears on a daily basis. Alignment Daily Management Sustainability Accountability BMGI s Leadership Triangle Essentially, Daily Management is where the rubber hits the road. It s where you actually live out the day-to-day reality of your strategic plan, always trying to stick to your bigger picture plan, while making minor course corrections along the way. Talk to Us About Your Strategic Direction Whether you re facing a specific problem, need an entirely new direction or just want to talk about your strategy, give us a call at +1 (303) 827-0010 or contact us at www.bmgi.com.