Strategy Design Innovation (eBook)

How to create business success using a systematic toolbox

Robert G. Wittmann, Michael Jünger, Matthias P. Reuter, Norbert Alexy (Autoren)

eBook Download: EPUB

2019 | 5. Auflage
247 Seiten
ZIEL Verlag
978-3-96557-078-8 (ISBN)

Infos

STRATEGY DESIGN INNOVATION is a practical workbook for all those who want to set their entrepreneurial spirit free by 'designing' and developing a 'strategy' inseparably linked to continuous 'innovation': founders, entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, students, consultants, investors. Maybe you are looking for answers to questions like these... Are you striving to create orientation for your team? Do you feel a need to better understand the developments in your business environment? Are you challenged by innovative competitors? Do you need to find and develop advantages for your customers? Are you trying to engage and motivate people for your strategy? Are you looking for better ways to bring in the harvest for all your efforts? Would you like to create and implement a navigation system that leads your team towards business success? If you are looking for answers to questions like these... this book is for you!

Prof. Dr. Robert G. Wittmann, born in 1962, is Professor for Entrepreneurhips and Innovation Management at the Technische Hochschule Ingolstadt (THI) and managing partner of add|venture consulting GmbH in Augsburg. As a consultant he has been involved in the development and implementation of Business Designs in a large number of projects for companies such as Audi AG, Metro AG, Siemens AG, Thyssen-Krupp AG as well as for non-profit-organizations, governmental institutions and organizations in the field of science. He is also active as a coach for companies during their startup and growth phases and promotes the ongoing creation of an entrepreneurship network in the Greater Munich Area along with partners from the worlds of science and business.

Textauszug

Chapter 3

THE STRATEGY DESIGN TOOLBOX – ASKING ENTREPRENEURIAL QUESTIONS AND CREATING ANSWERS

INTRODUCTION TO CHAPTER 3

In chapter 3 the details of the Strategy Design Toolbox are outlined.

Table 3.1 gives the overview on the architecture of the Strategy Design Toolbox.

— The ´seven perspectives´ give a holistic overview of all the relevant aspects of Strategy Design on the ´Overview Platform´. It helps to find orientation and to connect the answers in a consistent way.

— The four strategic questions per perspective and the associated methods allow to find answers on the ´Detail Platform´. It helps to analyze problems and to create solutions for Strategy Design.

NOTES

3.1 Perspective 1

CREATING ORIENTATION

Overview Perspective 1: Orientation

Some 2,000 years ago Lucius Annaeus Seneca accentuated the importance of orientation with the following statement:

YOU MUST KNOW

your destination’s port, if you wish to catch a favorable wind.
”

According to Hofmann-Wellenhof the art of navigation uses celestial points of reference that are based on the observation of the position of the Sun, the Moon planets and navigational stars. Such systems are in use both for terrestrial and for interstellar navigation. A navigator can determine his distance from a given point on the rotating earth by referring to a celestial object above that point and by measuring the height above the observer’s horizon. This can be transferred as an analogy to the journey a business is intended to make. Creating Orientation focuses the issue of effectiveness, which means doing the right things according to a certain point of reference or, in this case, with respect to the organization’s set of targets. Orientation can be created by answering the following four questions:

What is our vision and mission?

A clear vision creates alignment in a team for driving a business toward future success. It should address trendsetting ideas, convince the organization’s stakeholders and create excitement amongst them for the vision’s realization.

What are our values?

Over the last twenty years the idea of Corporate Social Responsibility has become an important reference in running a business. After major compliance scandals since the year 2000, executives perceived that they have to take more and more responsibility for the behavior on the collective and on the individual level. So an explicit set of company values has become an important point of navigation in an environment where stakeholders’ expectations have to be considered.

Overview Perspective 1: Creating Orientation

… continued

What is our promise to stakeholders?

All business is people business. Entrepreneurs have to take into consideration that the idea of sustainable stakeholder value creation actually constitutes the organization’s right to exist. So the executive’s job is to manage and shape the relationships with those groups that have a stake in the organization’s activities. It is a characteristic of innovative Strategy Designs to develop a higher level of added value for their stakeholders.

What are our objectives?

A company’s set of business objectives has to be developed on four levels: corporate level, business level, functional level and – if the company is active internationally – on a regional level. For a distinct orientation of the organization’s management and employees it is important to create a set of aligned and consistent objectives and to break it down to clearly allocated responsibilities on the strategic and operational levels.

3.1.1 What is our vision and our mission?

What it does …

Developing an inspiring vision is generally considered to be the best way to win people to support demanding goals in the long term. The vision outlines an attractive perspective of a Strategy Design’s (SD) future reality. In the same manner as a compass, it can contribute to setting the direction for Strategy Design Innovation by creating alignment among all internal and external players. In this way, visions become an effective means of motivation and a leadership tool which is a guideline for the strategy. This improves and provides self-correction for the use of internal resources and creates a point of reference for Entrepreneurial Spirit and the respective patterns for operational thinking and acting. The secret of successful visions lies in their vivid use and reflection in a day-to-day business life.

A vision describes comprehensively what a company should look like in the future. There is a wide spectrum of applicable topics, from the material aspects (e.g. taking an outstanding competitive position in the area of technology leadership) to the non-tangible aspects (e.g. living a corporate value of innovativeness). Although each firm’s business vision is unique, the following range of topics is frequently found in these visions:

— Aspects of the creation of values (e.g. ‘make people happy’, Walt Disney)

— Specific advantages which make the business interesting for specific stakeholders – especially for customers, employees, partners and investors (e.g. ‘Information at your fingertips’, Bill Gates)

— The position in the competitive environment relative to the market strategy, the technology and the competences (e.g. ‘the German phrase Vorsprung durch Technik’, AUDI AG).

— The model of the organization (e.g. ‘Global network of innovation’, Siemens AG).

Table 3.2 outlines the elements of a vision and its criteria for effectiveness.

Table 3.2
A clear vision creates alignment that drives business towards success. ▼

Further reading:

Zur Bonsen, M.: Fuhren mit Visionen: der Weg zum ganzheitlichen Management, Wiesbaden 1995. Barret, R.: The Values-Driven Organization-Unleashing Human Potential for Performance and Profit, London 2013. Coenenberg, A.G. / Salfeld, R. / Schultze, W.: Wertorientierte Unternehmensfuhrung – vom Strategieentwurf zur Implementierung, Stuttgart 2015. Kotter, J.P.: Leading Change, München 2012.

A business vision shows the following criteria:

— Trendsetting: The vision takes the function of the ‘North Star’ by showing a clear direction. It is developed on the basis of understanding markets and it shows how to address customer problems by value-adding solutions – better than competitors do.

— Convincing: The vision addresses positive values, is intuitive and credible. It shows the advantages for the individual organization and for its stakeholders. Generating enthusiasm is the powerful result of the vision’s potential.

— Realizable: The vision is challenging but not utopian. With the necessary effort and with entrepreneurial spirit the vision can be achieved.

— Concise: The vision captures the key message in just a few words. It is formulated in an attractive and distinct manner. So it can be easily remembered and communicated.

How it works …

Visions often arise from the personal inspirations of the entrepreneurs themselves. A tremendous opportunity presents itself when a group ‘unwraps’ a vision. The perspective of the future is, in this way, created by a variety of imaginations about what the future could look like. Frequently, a visionary force arises in a group which creates fun and alignment and supports a successful implementation.

In order to achieve a convincing vision in the group, it is possible to conduct an imaginary trip which leads you through the future of the business. The participants are guided by questions in order to speak about the business future as if it were already reality. Such a journey requires a framework in which the participants feel well, and where both creativity and intuition are granted. In this process, metaphors (e.g. sailing ships, gardens, springs, cathedrals, jewels) are helpful for visually demonstrating the uniqueness of the vision.

According to Barret (2013) the ‘Four Whys’ approach can be used as a heuristic tool to create outlines for the company’s vision and mission – the mission being a more strategical future oriented approach of a specific business field. In this matrix there are four search fields for creativity: looking at the vision and at the mission from an internal and an external motivational perspective.

In assignment SD-T 1.1 you will find a framework designed to direct and foster the creativity in your team with respect to the development of a vision and a mission. After a phase of creativity, take the results into consideration and check which of the ideas fit best with the generic characteristics of a vision, on the one hand regarding its values, advantages, position,...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 1.8.2019
• Verlagsort: Augsburg
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management
• Schlagworte: business • Business Design Innovation • Design • Designing • Designing Business Success • Development • Innovation • Inspiration • Practice • Service Design • Strategy • Success • Workbook
• ISBN-10: 3-96557-078-1 / 3965570781
• ISBN-13: 978-3-96557-078-8 / 9783965570788