TO: Ron Bassini FROM: Cristian Blejeru DATE: November 23, 2009SUBJECT: Chapter 2
The Managerial Process of Crafting and Executing Strategy
Crafting and executing a company’s strategy is a five-phase managerial process:1. Developing a strategic vision of where the company needs to head and what its future
product-customer-market-technology focus should be.2. Setting objectives and using them as yardsticks for measuring the company’s
performance and progress.3. Crafting a strategy to achieve the desired outcomes and move the company along the
strategic course that management has charted.4. Implementing and executing the chosen strategy efficiently and effectively5. Monitoring developments and initiating corrective adjustements in the company’s long
term direction, objectives, strategy, or execution in light of the company’s actual performance, changing conditions, new ideas, and new opportunities.
A strategic vision is a road map showing the route a company intends to take in developing and strengthening its business. It paints a picture of a company’s destination and provides a rationale for going there.For a strategic vision to function as a valuable managerial tool, it must provide understanding of what management wants its business to look like and provide managers with a reference point in making strategic decisions and preparing the company for the future. A good vision always needs to be a bit beyond a company’s reach, but progress toward the vision is what unifies the efforts of company personnel.A Strategic Vision Is Different from a Mission StatementA company’s mission is defined by the buyer needs it seeks to satisfy, the customer groups and market segments it is endeavoring to serve, and the resources and technologies that it is deploying in trying to please its customers.The distinction between a strategic vision and a mission statement is fairly clear-cut: a strategic vision portrays a company’s future business scope (“where we are going”) whereas a company’s mission typically describes its present business scope and purpose(“who we are, what we do, and why we are here”).A company’s values are the beliefs, business principles, and practices that guide the conduct of its business, the pursuit of its strategic vision, and the behavior of company personnel.Company managers connect values to the strategic vision in one of two ways. In companies with long-standing and deeply entrenched values, managers go to great lengths to explain how the vision is compatible with the company’s value set, occasionally reinterpreting the meaning of existing values to indicate their relevance in pursuing the strategic vision. In new companies or companies with weak or incomplete sets of values, top management considers what values, beliefs, and operating principles will help drive the vision forward.
Communicating the Strategic VisionAn effectively communicated vision is management’s most valuable tool for enlisting the commitment of company personnel to actions that will make the vision a reality.Executive ability to paint a convincing and inspiring picture of a company’s journey and destination is an important element of effective strategic leadership.Expressing the Essence of the Vision in a SloganCreating a short slogan to illuminate an organization’s direction and purpose and then using it repeatedly as a reminder of the “where we are headed and why” helps keep organization members on the chosen path.Breaking Down Resistance to a New Strategic VisionIt is particularly important for executives to provide a compelling rationale for a dramatically new strategic vision and company direction.Recognizing Strategic Inflection PointsSometimes there’s an order-of-magnitude change in a company’s environment that dramatically alters its prospects and mandates radical revision of its strategic course.The Payoffs of a Clear Vision StatementIn sum, a well-conceived, forcefully communicated strategic vision pays off in several respects: it crystallizes senior executives’ own views about the firm’s long-term direction; it reduces the risk.
