Strategic management
Part 1: Strategy discovered
Chapter 1: Strategy defined
Succes in business has 2 fathers:
- Strategy
- Good luck
Strategy offers a helicopter view of what needs to be done in order to become or remain successful.
Strategy is an ensemble of hard and soft information
- Hard information: is usually quantified (wordt meestal gekwantificeerd)
- Soft information: gossip, impressions, …
Henry Mintzberg
‘-> strategy is commonly used as a plan for achieving goals; it is a pattern of actions used over time.
Strategy is an emergent process where you start with a plan but only part of the plan will have been
realized.
2 reasons:
- Unrealized strategy: Some of the things you had in mind and in your plan some time later while
executing the plan, you decide not to do because it didn’t seem to be a good choice after al.
- Opportunistic strategy: On your way to the future, some opportunities might pop up.
Adaptive planning: finding a balance between sticking to your plan and keeping some flexibility.
1.1 A definition of strategic management
= the meaningful positioning within an environment of a company, a product or a brand. Within a
well defined time span.
,Boek leerkracht: it is all about meaningful positioning, defining a timespan and developing an
operating model that makes it possible to create value not only for the customers but also for the
other stakeholders.
- Meaningful positioning
o Continuity goals: long-term survival of the company
o Social goals: relationships within you organization
o Societal goals: relationships between your organization an the boarder external world.
- Well-defined time span: you need to work with deadlines and that the short-term objectives need to
be smart.
- Different possible ways to realise these goals
1.2 The strategic triangle
1. Steering elements: What do I want to do?
Things that give direction to your organization. Mission, business definition, goals and objectives
2. Resources: What can I do?
Money, human resources, knowledge, sharing this knowledge, your ambitions
3. Environment: What should I do?
The external world needs. Trends. Opportunities, threats
‘-> the key is: finding a good balance between these three elements.
Competitive requirements versus competitive advantage
EX: kunnen uitleggen
- Competitive requirement: be able to, what do we need to have, minimum
- Competitive advantage: ???
, Chapter 2: Strategic decision-making
2.1 how do executives makes decisions?
2 types of information needed:
- Hard information
- Soft information
Hard information
Information coming from information systems such as sales data or data from the accounting
department.
The disadvantage is that most of the data is about the past.
Hard information is historical and it misses nuances and details and does not explain why things are
going in one direction or another.
Soft information
Information based on gossip, impressions or info from conversation.
It is less accurate and often less reliable.
= Strategic decisions rely more on soft information is to do the fact that when you want to learn more
about the future, soft information is key.
2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of having a strategy
Advantages
- Creates a clear focus and alignment (alignment: people working in different department and different
levels in the company are heading in the same direction)
- Goof understanding of the environment
- Faster decisions
- Coherent decisions
Disadvantage
- Too strict canvas that prevents you from being open to opportunities
- Missed opportunities
- Limited choices
- Inflexibility
Part 1: Strategy discovered
Chapter 1: Strategy defined
Succes in business has 2 fathers:
- Strategy
- Good luck
Strategy offers a helicopter view of what needs to be done in order to become or remain successful.
Strategy is an ensemble of hard and soft information
- Hard information: is usually quantified (wordt meestal gekwantificeerd)
- Soft information: gossip, impressions, …
Henry Mintzberg
‘-> strategy is commonly used as a plan for achieving goals; it is a pattern of actions used over time.
Strategy is an emergent process where you start with a plan but only part of the plan will have been
realized.
2 reasons:
- Unrealized strategy: Some of the things you had in mind and in your plan some time later while
executing the plan, you decide not to do because it didn’t seem to be a good choice after al.
- Opportunistic strategy: On your way to the future, some opportunities might pop up.
Adaptive planning: finding a balance between sticking to your plan and keeping some flexibility.
1.1 A definition of strategic management
= the meaningful positioning within an environment of a company, a product or a brand. Within a
well defined time span.
,Boek leerkracht: it is all about meaningful positioning, defining a timespan and developing an
operating model that makes it possible to create value not only for the customers but also for the
other stakeholders.
- Meaningful positioning
o Continuity goals: long-term survival of the company
o Social goals: relationships within you organization
o Societal goals: relationships between your organization an the boarder external world.
- Well-defined time span: you need to work with deadlines and that the short-term objectives need to
be smart.
- Different possible ways to realise these goals
1.2 The strategic triangle
1. Steering elements: What do I want to do?
Things that give direction to your organization. Mission, business definition, goals and objectives
2. Resources: What can I do?
Money, human resources, knowledge, sharing this knowledge, your ambitions
3. Environment: What should I do?
The external world needs. Trends. Opportunities, threats
‘-> the key is: finding a good balance between these three elements.
Competitive requirements versus competitive advantage
EX: kunnen uitleggen
- Competitive requirement: be able to, what do we need to have, minimum
- Competitive advantage: ???
, Chapter 2: Strategic decision-making
2.1 how do executives makes decisions?
2 types of information needed:
- Hard information
- Soft information
Hard information
Information coming from information systems such as sales data or data from the accounting
department.
The disadvantage is that most of the data is about the past.
Hard information is historical and it misses nuances and details and does not explain why things are
going in one direction or another.
Soft information
Information based on gossip, impressions or info from conversation.
It is less accurate and often less reliable.
= Strategic decisions rely more on soft information is to do the fact that when you want to learn more
about the future, soft information is key.
2.2 Advantages and disadvantages of having a strategy
Advantages
- Creates a clear focus and alignment (alignment: people working in different department and different
levels in the company are heading in the same direction)
- Goof understanding of the environment
- Faster decisions
- Coherent decisions
Disadvantage
- Too strict canvas that prevents you from being open to opportunities
- Missed opportunities
- Limited choices
- Inflexibility
