State of the Art Best Practices Report

The Top 12 Strategic Management Mistakes by Corporations

Problem #7 Continued...

Internal Assessment (SW):
We strongly recommend an Organization-Wide Systems Assessment of the type that the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award for Performance Excellence provides. We at the Haines Centre have done a two-year study of our own Systems Assessment compared to the Baldrige one and created a newer version that is “built on the Baldrige” called the Business Excellence Architecture.

This Enterprise-Wide Assessment, built on the Baldrige, is seven times richer than the usual SW as it has seven more categories or elements in which to do a SW on both. These categories include the ones in the Baldrige and some others as well, since the Baldrige is a static snapshot and organizations are dynamic in nature. Hence our seven well know organizational categories:

1. Building a Performance Culture (The Systems Thinking Approach®)
2. Reinventing Strategic Planning into Strategic Management
3. Leading Enterprise-Wide Change
4. Creating the People Edge
5. Achieving Leadership Excellence
6. Becoming Customer Focused
7. Aligning Distribution and Delivery

External Assessment (OT):
Previously in Phase E: Future Environmental Scanning, we discussed the crucial need to look into the future for the trends and disruptions that might affect us. Once this has been done with rigor as described there, then thinking and working backwards from it to the implications to today’s current state will give us a much richer set of Opportunities and Threats to exploit. Without this future orientation, the tendency is just to look around us in a brainstorm of what we already know, running blindly, without a real peering into the dynamic and disruptive future.

Society Example:
Throughout our society, we normally look first to where we are in terms of any issues we needed to problem solve.  We do a Strengths and Weaknesses and then proceed to come up with alternatives and then the action plan leading to a solution.  However, the real question is what are your desired outcomes first, and then look for the gap between today and the future for your solutions.

Management Example:
In most planning processes in the western world, the SWOT Analysis is the first thing we do.  And, it is often a shallow analysis with more form over substance.  The depth of analysis is just not there the way our Business Excellence Architecture Framework ensures.  The result is MOS (More of the Same) rather than any major change that is needed to cope and thrive in today’s global dynamic environment.

Trainer Example:
Trainers often do the same thing as society and management in starting with today and a shallow SWOT Analysis.  Instead as good trainers know, first having clear desired outcomes and benefits to the customers is crucial.  Features and Benefits is the phrase often used.  Trainers need to start with Benefits and then work backwards to the Features of the training program.