Smart companies develop their leaders by giving them assignments that offer opportunities to develop strategic skills as they move up the organization. However, experience takes time and leaders inevitably make mistakes along the way. Although it is well understood that one learns best from painful experiences or mistakes, such mistakes can be costly to the company as well as to the leader involved, depending on the tolerance for risk of her organization. Unfortunately, experience is often the best teacher, but may arrive with painful consequences. What if we could compress time and create a risk-free environment where leaders make strategic decisions and see the impact of their choices on the business results? What if they could see the impact of their decisions not only on the short term but also over a few years? Also, what if they could avoid the “isolated leader” syndrome and work with their peers through the many trade-offs associated with strategic decision making?
The good news is that such environments exist today. They take the form of advanced strategy business simulations which are embedded in many customized StratX programs. We create an environment where leaders work in teams to manage a fictitious company over a 4 to 5 year period. In a fast paced, highly engaging 2-3 day workshop, leaders make tough decisions and compete to grow their business profitably, create customer value, and ultimately strive to deliver the most shareholder value.
Even better - this approach allows for the development of strategic decision making skills much faster and in an experiential way making learning truly stick. The cost to do so is minimal compared to the larger cost stemming from real life strategic mistakes. The pressure is on as markets are increasingly growing more competitive and complex. The need to thoughtfully allocate limited resources (including our time) and strategically prioritize, as we serve a myriad of ever more demanding customers - internal and/or external, is only increasing.
P&G provides a great example for us. Though they have claimed mis-steps in the past, what makes them noteworthy is they learn from the past. Our first P&G post shared one of Lafley's thoughts on divesting the JiF and Folgers products earlier. Today, we see this mindset through P&G's proactive management of their portfolio. Trimming brands which no longer fit with the company profile and customer needs is key to remaining competitive. Imagine your team bringing that mindset to the table as you start your strategic plans for the following years.
Our management solutions enable the development of leaders quickly while driving results. Visit our Client Stories page to learn about the challenges our clients face and how they’ve been addressed. To learn more about how we can help you, email us at boston@stratx.com or paris@stratx.com.
