Be “efficient” and “impatient”
No less than Steven Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, urges acting quickly based on a tight strategic focus.
As quoted by the New York Times, he says, "This is a time when organizations need to do more with less." He explains, "The need to be more efficient drives us all toward sharper focus on what is important and what can truly move the needle in terms of meeting customer needs and taking market share."
Likewise, Ballmer says that these are times in which it's important to be "impatient," to cut to the quick regarding recommendations and decision making.
We'll let Ballmer's words speak for themselves. After all, working with Bill Gates he's led the company from a small 20-person start-up to one of the world's largest, most dominant companies with a workforce of 90,000 employees.
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May 11, 2009
Getting through the week
"Companies should plan now, but we are all trying to get through this week."
That's what a company treasurer told me a few days ago in a discussion about the merits of strategic planning. His capital goods firm was now feeling the full effects of the recession and prospects for 2010 did not look good, either.
It's hard to refute thinking that puts survival first. What can one say in defense of planning in such difficult times?
Since our conversation, I have thought of several responses that ought to at least give my treasurer friend and his peers some pause.
Whether in good times or bad, you may be aiming at the wrong target and there may be a better target to aim at. The way to find out is not to abandon planning.
You can always find a reason not to plan. In good times when things are going well it's easy to say we don't need it. It seems we are always short a key person who we need to have participate in the planning or we don't have the time to plan.
By briefly pausing to look further ahead, it's likely that what's most important to do right now will become apparent - and what's a waste of time to do right now is also likely to become obvious.
Opportunities arise in times of stress and change, as markets shift and competitors ebb and flow. By not assuring that you are thinking strategically you may be missing great opportunities for the organization.
Strategic planning can be an uplifting process because it shows a better future and the path to get there. In hard times giving the organization hope can be important.
Certainly, now is the time to pay rapt attention to day-to-day needs. Do that! But please also carve out a few days for your team to engage in strategic thinking and to identify the strategic actions that will create a brighter future for the organization.
