Boosting Employee Engagement and Productivity

More engaged employees = up to 21% productivity boost

Strategy

Creating a competitive advantage that generates superior, sustainable financial returns.

• Need to choose a position against the competition, player dynamic, and industry changes.
• Successful strategy considers: external environment, internal activities, and long-term industry/organizational changes.
• Decisions should be mutually reinforcing, leading to optimization of effort.

Aspirations

The purpose and goals of a person or corporation, essential for a strategy.

• Personal Aspirations: Intrinsically motivated, more than a goal; enduring and motivated from within, an expression of the search for fulfillment.
• Organizational Aspirations: Extrinsically motivated, encompassing mission, vision, and values; a motivator.

Mission, Vision, and Values

• Mission: Purpose of existence, transcends market and product cycles, guides and inspires.
• Vision: The future after the mission is achieved.
• Values: Factors governing conduct in pursuit of the mission and vision; culture.

Aspirations & Strategy

Complementary, concerned with the motivation, direction, and purpose of people, not competition (which is the focus of strategy).

• Motivate employees.
• Set boundaries for strategic decisions.
• Provide a stable purpose.
• Communicate with shareholders.
• Ensure coherent, motivational strategy.

Mission Statement

Summary of an organization's purpose.

• Short and impactful.
• Reflects strategic choices.
• Motivates employees.
• Transcends market and product cycles.

Values statements reflect choices consistent with strategy and aligned with employee and customer values.

Four-Step Process

1. What business are we in and why? (Mission, Vision, Values)
2. Where are we going? (Strategic Goals)
3. Key issues the strategy must address? (Strategic Analysis)
4. How to best compete? (Strategy Formulation)

Misusing Aspirations

• Mission statement vs. mission.
• Aspirations vs. strategy.
• Cookie-cutter aspirations.
• Aspirations as PR.
• Aspirations vs. financial goals.
• Visions are not self-fulfilling.

Strategy Statement

Defines the objectives, scope, and advantage of the organization.

Industry Analysis

A process to:

• Define the industry.
• Identify key players.
• Analyze player influence on profit.
• Test the analysis.
• Develop a plan for the industry environment.
• Analyze potential changes in profitability factors and the required response.

Used to:

• Identify opportunities to grow profits.
• Find and counter threats.
• Decide to enter or exit a market.
• Position the firm to succeed.
• Assess the effect of major changes.
• Shape the environment.