Paul R. Niven's Blog: A Dynamic Approach to Strategy Execution

Fans of The Eagles – and really, how can you not be a fan of a group that has produced so many memorable songs on the way to selling a whopping 150 million albums over their 30 year span – will be interested in a fascinating documentary titled “History of the Eagles” (2013). The film chronicles the band’s many triumphs and personal struggles. I recently watched it over the course of two nights (it’s almost four hours long) and was riveted throughout. At one point, there is footage from a press conference The Eagles conducted in 1994 to publicize their upcoming “Hell Freezes Over” reunion tour. A reporter asked the band if they’d be playing just their many hits, or would also introduce new material into their sets. Don Henley answered the question by saying they would of course be singing their signature songs, classics like “Hotel California” and “Take it Easy,” but it was also very important (and creatively rewarding) to mix in new material along the way. He said that if they sang nothing but the old songs it would quickly become boring for both them and the audience.

There’s a lesson in his response for all of us involved in the development and execution of strategy – and that means every employee from the CEO on down. Our equivalent of “classic songs” and “hits” are the products and services we’ve been providing for many years and the accompanying processes we’ve relied upon to “get things done.” Sometimes we become so enamored with our “classic” products that they become almost sacred, and we continue to churn them out regardless of whether or not our audience – paying customers - is ready for something new and different. The same applies to the processes and procedures we employ on a day-to-day basis. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a client about a process that seems at the very least ineffective, only to hear, “Well, that’s the way we’ve always done it.” Eventually, doing the same old thing - producing repeat products and services with no real differentiation and utilizing the same processes and procedures - bores us, makes us less effective in the marketplace, and results in our customers signaling their disinterest by taking their business elsewhere. A true lose/lose proposition.

Peter Drucker, the original rock star management guru, coined the term “abandonment” to describe a method of periodically questioning what we sell, how we go to market, what processes we utilize, and determining whether change was necessary. He suggested you ask yourself this fundamental question: “If we weren’t already in this business, would we enter it today?” He also noted that in order to grow, and growth is an imperative for virtually every organization, “A business must have a systematic policy to get rid of the outgrown, the obsolete, the unproductive."[i] It can be challenging, because the status quo exerts enormous pressure on all of us to continue down the same well-trodden path we’ve been walking without questioning whether it’s leading us where we want and need to go. But to generate long-term success, we need to exit that gravitational pull and take a long hard look at the way we do things, and the products and services that result from our key processes.

Performance measures used as part of a Balanced Scorecard or other management system are often part of the problem, but can also be part of the solution to this task. An old adage reminds us “What gets measured gets managed.” In other words, we tend to pay most attention to what we’re currently tracking, regardless of whether or not those indicators represent a strategy of change and innovation necessary to stay relevant in our marketplace. I challenge you to critically examine your measures and ask if they provide an accurate representation of your chosen strategic direction. The measures you rely upon for competitive insight should be directly translated from your unique strategy – one that creates differentiation and some form of lasting advantage. If your measures are stale, your strategy may be similarly past its expiration date.

Remember, just like The Eagles, never rely exclusively on your own back catalog of “hits.” Make it a discipline to periodically question the fundamental underpinnings of your business. Do so and in “The Long Run” you’ll avoid a “Heartache Tonight” and can “Take it (your business) to the Limit.”

I'm thrilled that my latest book, BALANCED SCORECARD EVOLUTION, is now in stores.

Many thanks to a great team at Wiley and to everyone who helped make it happen.

Looking forward to your feedback and reviews.

Over the past twenty years, I’ve facilitated thousands of workshops during which my clients engage in the significant mental effort required to develop Balanced Scorecards that will lead to the execution of their strategy. It’s hard work – intellectually demanding and often tiring, but ultimately rewarding when the entire team lands on the same strategic page, understanding exactly what success looks like and how they’ll get there.

When the clock ticks close to noon during these events it’s not uncommon for participants to meet my calls for a lunch break with a few sneers and remarks that suggest the not so subtle subtext of: “We’re professionals, we don’t need a lunch break…we can power through this!” I certainly understand the desire to capitalize on the momentum that has accumulated during the morning session, and applaud the work ethic of those wanting to carry on without a break, but as a mounting body of research indicates, working through lunch is simply not a good idea for you, or your organization.

Chris Cunningham, University of Tennessee Professor of Industrial-Organizational and Occupational Health believes a mid-day break is essential in restoring the energy and focus necessary to tackle the pressing problems most of us encounter in our day-to-day work lives. “The attention it takes to focus at work drains (people) of psychological, social, and material reserves, leading to stress and lower productivity. Taking a lunch break away from the desk lets people separate themselves from the source of that drain.”

It’s not just productivity that suffers when you sit at your desk or in a conference room toil
ing through the lunch hour, but in fact you’re putting your health in jeopardy. University of Arizona researchers found that the typical office worker’s desk has about 400 times more germs per square inch than an office toilet seat. The nastiest germ minefields are your keyboard and phone, storing in excess of 20,000 germs per square inch. So if you think hiding out in your office is protecting you from that flu bug going around the office, think again. A cold is small potatoes, however, compared to the damage that excess sitting can cause in the long term. Research from the Mayo Clinic has linked sitting for extended periods of time with a number of significant health concerns including obesity and metabolic syndrome, a deleterious band of conditions including high blood pressure, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and abnormal cholesterol levels. As if that weren’t bad enough, the research also suggests that sitting too much can increase the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Fortunately, we can combat these issues with relative ease. Simply wiping your work surface with hand sanitizer can eliminate the vast majority of germs taking up residence around your desk. As to the bigger problems related to excess sitting, the best medicine is to simply get up and get away at lunch, preferably interacting with nature. You don’t need a vigorous hike lasting a full hour, everyone’s clock is different, and for some a ten-minute stroll around your parking lot may be all you need to re-energize and re-focus for the rest of the day. Whatever you choose, know that you’re doing both your mind and body a great service. Research documenting the brain’s ability to subconsciously problem solve is piling up rapidly, so an answer to that challenge you just couldn’t solve before lunch, no matter how hard you tried, may come flashing through while you’re out enjoying a short break. In addition to the mental breakthroughs you’ll enjoy, getting up and spending a few minutes outside is probably the best thing you can do to restore the reserves of energy and focus we all need to succeed in today’s workplace.

Notes:

-Making the Most of Your Lunch Hour, Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2013.

-Germ statistics from: http://www.cnn.com/2004/HEALTH/12/13/...