• Strategy Review
• Strategic Planning Approach
• Our Approach to Opportunity Development
• Product and Customer Relationship Management

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Stategy Review

Strategy review is our rapid turnaround economical audit of organisation strategy and implementation. We review and assess your organisation's strategic health and well being. The review covers overall business direction and the management of critical strategic issues.

How it Works

We first review each of the elements which make up the Strategic Agenda of the organisation:

• Strategic direction
• Product/market scope
• Core Capabilities
• Growth / Development Path
• Financial Performance

We then use our Strategic Issues framework as the scheme for reviewing performance in the seven types of issues critical to managing ongoing strategy implementation. These are the issues which tend to determine the operational success of the business strategy:

• Market need and positioning
• Resources and capabilities
• Products and services
• Organisation structure and alignment of business units
• Relationships with customers
• Competitor analysis
• Operating and information systems

The Outcome

The outcome is a profile of the adequacy of the current (explicit or implicit) strategy, management of strategic issues and the development of the business. These are based on internal consistency and where possible external benchmark.

How we Can Help to Improve Your Business

It's often useful to have an informed outside perspective of organisation performance and scope for improvement.

At WCS, we've developed a framework for rapidly and economically analysing strategy and its translation into business management. This can pinpoint where gains can be made or provide early warning of potential difficulties.

Please email Tony Wright or Paul Howlett now to dicuss the potential for improved business performance through strategic analysis.

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Our Approach To Strategic Planning

The process of strategy development requires a number of elements which we offer as a total framework or as stand alone packages. The framework has been developed over many years and relies on a combination of theory and practice. We recommend an approach that strikes a middle ground between planning, paralysis and gut feel alone. It is economical and rapid.

Strategic Purpose

These are the key fixed strategic objectives which provide the overriding purpose or reason for being of the organisation. We help to determine these as a base for the strategy development process.

Situation Analysis

In this work we investigate industry / market factors to gain a perspective on opportunities and key requirements for success. We also review internal factors including products, competencies, culture and customer relationships to determine core capabilities.

The outcome is matching of opportunities and capabilities to formulate alternative strategic business or product directions.

Strategy Formulation

Our approach is to work with the client team to determine and evaluate alternative strategic directions. We do this on the basis of fit between opportunities and core capabilities, and how the organisation would look as a result of alternative strategic directions.

The outcome of this process is a strategic agenda which will guide the future direction of the organisation. Capability statement on Strategy Formulation provides further information.

Strategic Issues Management

Here we clarify and help develop schemes to manage the issues which are critical to achieving the strategic agenda. This sets the basis for the ongoing management of the strategic direction on a day to day basis. Issue management in this way provides the link between corporate strategy and tactical operations. Capability statement on Strategic Issues Management provides further information.

Strategic Vision Development

In this activity we help to develop a concise statement of organisation purpose and strategic direction. To do this we work with the client team to clarify the organisation's strategic agenda. The outcome is a clearly communicated description of the business concept and vision of future achievement.

Business Planning

Our approach to business planning provides advice and assistance on the annual process for managing the implementation of business strategy.

Graphical Summary

 
• Define Strategic Purpose
• Internal Appraisal
• External Appraisal

 
 
• Strategic Direction Options
• Product/Market Scope OPtions
• Core Capability Options
• Growth Development Plan Options
• Financial Performance Scope

 
 
• Situation Review
• Strategy Agenda Review
• Strategic Issue Focus and Management Plan
• Coherent Strategic Vision

 
 
 
• Workshop Output Clarification

• Operational Plans

 
 
 
Email Tony Wright or Paul Howlett to discuss how we can help you gain improved business performance from innovative strategy.

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Our Approach To Opportunity Development

Business strategy begins with identifying the best combination of opportunities. The opportunity portfolio should exploit the organisation's competitive advantage within its preferred risk/reward position.

Wright Corporate Strategy believes that Opportunity Development ought to be a systematic process combining creative opportunity search and objective evaluation.

Our aim is to ensure that the best array of potential opportunities is identified and that the ones adopted, after evaluation, will enable our clients to successfully enter fields that may appear new or different, but are fundamentally consistent with corporate strategy and competence.

Our approach has five flexible phases:

Strategic Purpose

The guiding concept is the nature of the client enterprise and the broad future purpose of the business. This provides the strategic objectives of the corporation in seeking and considering opportunities.

We assist our clients to appreciate and internalise strategic purpose as a base for opportunity development.

Industry/Sector Analysis

In this phase we investigate industry and market factors. We then document the current position of the sector, the participants, and the forces most actively driving change. The outcome is a basis for developing scenarios of the future shape of the sector and a perspective on promising opportunity arenas.
Corporate Situation
Deciding which are the best among an array of identified opportunities requires several steps. The first filter concerns whether the enterprise has the capacity to convert the tentative choice(s) to successful business operations.

It involves an objective review of the client corporation's products and services, operating culture, management depth, customer relationships and core competencies. The purpose of this phase is to narrow the focus to opportunities that would provide a successful match with the client organisation.

Opportunity Evaluation

This is a strategic analysis of short-listed opportunities with the aim of evaluating opportunity scope and rewards, risk and market size. The opportunity focus moves to the point of nominating market entry possibilities, such as potential products and services to develop and/or companies for acquisition or alliance. Each possibility is tested and evaluated.

Implementation

Here we assist clients to initiate and complete acquisition or alliance negotiations, or recruit people with the needed capabilities.

Finally WCS can provide expert assistance in integrating chosen opportunities into the client organisation.

Email Tony Wright or Paul Howlett to discuss how we can help you gain improved business performance from innovative strategy.

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Product and Customer Relationship Management

What is it

When the vision is clear and the strategy is set, making it happen and maintaining the momentum on a day to day basis calls for frequent adjustment.

The key to successful strategy implementation is in recognising the critical importance of the organisation's products and services and the relationships with customers. The diagram shows the key factors associated with each.

Getting all the product / service factors right and all the relationship factors right is a strategic issue. Performance on these factors must be reviewed frequently and adjusted to ensure constant alignment.

In many ways, the relationship with the customer is a part of the product or service offered. If a positive relationship is not established, then repeat sales are unlikely no matter how good the product. Conversely, if the product is not right then repeat sales are unlikely no matter how good the relationship.

How it works

We work with the client team to analyse each of the key product/service factors and each of the key relationship factors. The aim is to determine how customers would rate the organisation's performance on each factor. Customer perception of poor performance on one or two factors often proves to be significant on stalling product acceptance. Sometimes it can have a devastating effect.

We then trace back through culture factors and market need factors to determine root causes of unsatisfactory perceptions.

We are then able to advise or assist the client on designing a strategy to correct the factor(s) causing adverse customer perception.

How we can help to improve your business

At WCS we have developed a special framework for evaluating strategic performance.

The methodology outlined can be applied to service businesses or production organisations. Our approach is always flexible and geared to providing just what the client wants: a small-scale overview or a complete review and analysis. Our promise to the client is a guarantee of satisfaction with the product and the relationship we establish.

Email Tony Wright or Paul Howlett to discuss to discuss the potential of this powerful technique.

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