Merron simpson

Validating Strategies … … a Magna Carta for the 21st

Century?(or linking Projects and Results to Uses and Benefits)

Merron Simpson UK Lead, OpenStrategies and Director, New Realities

What might a 21st C Magna Carta look like?

A national constitution? A locally generated, shared contribution?

Organisations affect the way we live

Organisations (public and private) …

• engage in daily acts that impact on people

• spend public money (budgets, tax credits, bank bailouts)

• create the economy, environment, social infrastructure we live in

So, would it be reasonable for organisation be held to account for what they do, day to day? And would it be possible?

The question … leading to the proposition

It is possible to validate a strategy?

• Can organisation strategies be ‘validated’?

• What might a validated strategy look like?

Copyright OpenStrategies Ltd 2012 5

Strategies should guide what organisations actually do


But the reality is more like this …

• “Most companies do not have a strategy… I think 9 out of 10 (at least) don’t actually have one”

• “Most companies and CEOs do not have a good rationale of why they are doing the things they are doing and how this should lead to superior performance”

• “…we want to be number 1 or 2 in all the markets we operate in’. Ever heard that one? I think it’s bollocks”

• “… the extraordinary reality is that few executives think this time-consuming process pays off … there is an almost mystical hope that something good will come out of it”

Prof Freek Vermeulen, London Business School

“A strategy is only really a strategy if people in the organisation alter their behaviour as a result of it”

Freek Vermeulen, London Business School

So what do organisations actually do?


Organisations create Citizens & customers products and services use them

Global finance

Legislation

Human Resources

Climate change

Rising sea levels

Business confidence

Local weather

Local politics

Corporate Social Responsibility

Outcomes Based Accountability

Collaboration

Purchasing

Administration

Finance Leadership

Global politics

The core role of organisations is to create products and services. Customers and citizens use them to create Benefits for themselves. Organisation’s actions are influenced by external and internal information and services

Investment Logic Mapping

Internal information

External information flowing in


Rising sea levels Global politics

Global finance

Legislation

Human Resources

Climate change Business confidence

Local weather

Local politics

Corporate Social Responsibility

Outcomes Based Accountability

Collaboration

Purchasing

Administration

Finance Leadership

Investment Logic Mapping

PRUB concisely defines the core ‘process’ of organisations – ie running Projects to create Results such as infrastructure products and services which citizens, communities and customers Use to create Benefits for themselves

Create products/services Use products/services

External information flowing in

Internal information


PRUB

Organisations run Projects which produce Results (outputs/assets)

which people Use to create Benefits (outcomes)


Information Structure

The smallest amount of strategic information…

that has the highest value…

to the most people

Project don’t create benefits … Uses do

A revelation for organisations

Stages of enlightenment• Understanding … of why Projects often don’t (or do) have the hoped-for

impact• Self-reflection … why are we doing what we’re doing?• New relationship … dynamic relationship between an organisation and

its customers as organisations develop • a much deeper more nuanced understanding of their customers• better ways of finding out how their customers want to live their lives• a better understanding of how customers are likely to Use the Results of

Projects to deliver Benefits• different Projects that will be actually be Used


Validating Strategies

A fully validated strategy is one that …

1. Defines what ideally needs to be done (the SubStrategy)

2. Provides cause-and-effect Evidence that it will actually work (the Evidence)

3. Demonstrates that it is worth it (the Value)


Happy customers because they have done and achieved what they wanted to do and achieve

Sustainably manufacture, distribute and market our company’s new product

Our company’s new product available to customers together with relevant product marketing information

Customers buy and use our company’s new product to do & achieve what they want

Our company is sustainably profitable

Projects Results Uses Benefits

Build a sheltered, safe cycleway from the housing estate to the school

A sheltered, safe cycleway is in place from the housing estate to the school

Children ride to school and home again on the safe and sheltered cycleway

Children are safe when travelling

1. The Sub-strategy test… can you represent the initiative as a SubStrategy?


Orphan Results

P R U B

P R

P1

P2

R1

R2 U B

Abandoned Orphan Result

Adopted Orphan Result


2. The Evidence test … is there compelling Evidence for the key Links?

Evidence sits on the Links between Projects, Results, Uses and Benefits

The most important Evidence sits on the Links between Results and Uses


Indicators, targets and measurements

3. The Value test … is it worth it?

Is $B > ($P + $U)

Copyright OpenStrategies Ltd 2008

Strategic planning: “Doing the right thing”

Project management: “Doing it right”

www.openstrategies.com

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Merron simpson