As process facilitators and experts in the field, we help our clients to design and implement powerful strategy processes. We apply our many years of experience to address individual requirements and contexts. Because one thing is clear: A strategy process can only be successful if it is tailored to the organization.
Strategy design is not a part-time job: In most organizations and market environments, it is no longer sufficient to deal with and develop corporate strategy every two or three years. Markets and competitors are moving faster than ever before. So strategies need to be thought through and implemented more dynamically as well. We enable our clients to master this dynamic situation by means of flexible strategy processes in which continuous adaptation and development options are designed in.
Our job as experts in the area of process facilitation is to enable our clients to design powerful and dynamic strategy processes. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to this, which is why we refer to ‘good practices’ rather than a single ‘best practice’ in the context of our work. However, certain common factors can be identified that contribute to the success of a strategy process:
The combination of the client's experience and knowledge, professional know-how and our process expertise produces sustainable strategies and sub-strategies. Because individual process design and empirical knowledge reduce process errors, while substantive impulses open up new perspectives.
Our experts cover a range of areas that are relevant for strategy development. These include the fields of innovation, organizational development, culture, business model design and agile collaboration.
ESignificant resources can be tapped by (re)discovering the knowledge and talents available in the organization and exploiting them in the strategy process.
We know how to assess the important aspects of culture, structure, mindset and profitability using measurable parameters.
It makes sense to design the strategy process in an agile and iterative way and to check whether the desired results have been achieved again and again during the implementation phase. The insights gained can then be incorporated into the strategy or used to correct it at an early stage.
We create the space and atmosphere that ensures the success of the strategy process. For the best ideas are often there already, and they only have to be made visible and usable.
We always keep these success factors in mind in strategy processes. Not simply feeding them into a standardized best-practice technique, but for orientation. This is what enables us to give the individual needs of our clients the consideration they require.
Strategy processes are very individually geared to the specific requirements of the organization, its management and its employees. Nevertheless, successful processes often require similar approaches. Possible process steps can be:
A viable strategy can only be developed on the basis of a basic intention (purpose or mission statement): Why do we do what we do? Who are we, what are we doing, where do we want to go? Questions such as these must be asked and answered in order to define objectives.
When the basic vision work has been completed, the next step is to consider the market, the competitors and the organization itself. We contribute to the organizational analysis with appropriate workshop formats, survey and interview tools as well as our assessment based on many years of experience.
The results of the analysis are condensed and reported to the management team. This often produces insights that can be used to regulate how the strategy development is to proceed. This provides the basis for formulating strategic goals. Suitable workshop formats and co-creative approaches generate the constructive-creative atmosphere that is essential for the development of a viable strategy.
After the first prototype has been developed, it generally takes 2 or 3 further iteration loops until a stable and presentable version of the strategy emerges. The idea is to fine-tune the strategy one step at a time. To this end, stakeholders are involved and feedback and findings are integrated into the prototype.
Now the time has come to present the new strategy to the organization. As with all communication topics, transparency, consistency and a serious sense of purpose are paramount here. The strategy communication should convince the employees and have a guiding effect on their actions.
In the next step - strategy implementation - individual sub-strategies are derived from the overall strategy. Departments and teams use the overarching guidelines to work out what they can contribute to achieving the strategic goals.
The main guarantors for the quality and sustainability of the strategy process are the co-creative design of the process and the iterative approach. Working in iterative loops to obtain internal and external feedback and integrate changes or feedback appropriately into the strategy process is one of the strengths that set us apart. In addition, we rely on managers and employees co-designing the strategy - both in the development and implementation process.
Communication is the key to a sustainable strategy process. A strategy can only succeed as a guiding principle when employees understand it and know how they can contribute to its implementation.
Der Strategie-Entwicklungsprozess kann auch mit der Einführung von OKRs verknüpft werden. OKRs sind ein Ansatz, bei dem die Strategie in konkrete Ziele, Maßnahmen und messbare Ergebnisse für alle Ebenen übersetzt wird. Die Sichtbarkeit der Ziele für jeden Einzelnen ist ein wesentlicher Eckpfeiler der Methode, ebenso wie die Messbarmachung von Erfolg.
Das Vorgehen ist iterativ, d.h. die gesetzten Ziele werden regelmäßig überprüft und gegebenenfalls angepasst. So werden Feedback und neu gewonnene Erkenntnisse konsequent integriert.
Michael Kempf's special pleasure lies in the quick recognition, diagnosis of complex interrelationships and the joint shaping of the future.
