STRATEGY

SEE STRATEGIC PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT

If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will get you there

is the famous line from Lewis Carroll’s story of Alice in Wonderland.

Casey Stengel, the great manager of the New York Yankees said:

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll end up someplace else.

And the Great Yogi, the Maharishi of Baseball, Yogi Berra, said:

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re lost.

There is a lot of wisdom in these three humorous statements that every senior executive should be considering.

Three essential ingredients for a successful company are:

1. Strategy: to have the Right Strategy at the Right Time is essential.
2. Belief: people who are Powerfully Committed to the Purpose and Direction of the organization
3. Execution: A near-flawless level of teamwork to put the strategy into place

Our Strategy Workshops are designed to engage those who will have to execute the strategy in the design of the approach that will create powerful competitive advantages both short and long term

We have successfully used this approach to reposition companies and event entire governmental regions to mobilize human energy to achieve outstanding results.

Strategic Portfolio Management

“How do we optimize Strategic Portfolio Management and use it as a Competitive Weapon?”

Purpose
Strategic Portfolio Management has several compelling objectives

• Develop & Manage our Value Network (Web/Eco-System)
• Supply
• R&D
• Manufacturing
• Strategic Outsourcing
• Provide a Dynamic Picture of Strategic Evolution
• Value Migration
• Strategic Scenario Mapping
• Network Evolution
• Life Cycle Management
• Enable us to Lead our Market Spaces using alliances
• Maintain Competitive Advantages
• Establish New Market Beachheads
• Funnel Innovation from our Supply Chain
• Defend Critical Positions & Deprive Competitors of Best Partners
• Support Business Unit Alliances in our Market Space
• Coordination across/within Business Units
• Systems Optimization & Performance Monitoring
• Enhance Business Development & Alliance Governance
• Allocation of Resources

Symptoms of the Need
Companies Know they Need Portfolio Management When:

• Portfolio of Alliances Is Growing,
• But Things Are Starting to Get Out of Hand.
• Wide Variety of Alliances Are Starting to Conflict With Each Other
• Business Units Are Sometimes Constructing Alliances That Are Working at Cross Purposes.
• Strategic Value of Alliances Is Becoming More Important, but Their Performance Is Sporadic
• Management of Multiple Alliances Is Becoming a Head-ache
• Not Enough People Seem to Have the Skills and Capabilities to Make the Alliances Work Well.
• Network Is Expanding As Alliances Become an Extension of Your Company
• But There Does Not Seem to Be a Good Way to Share the Learning From Any of the Ventures Through Out the Organization.

Problems Can Be Great
When Companies Wait Too Long to Coordinate Their Portfolios:

• Business Unit Conflict
• Alliances Conflict in the Market Space
• Integrated Customer Solutions Not Designed or Delivered
• Critical Business Shifts are Missed & Competitors Out-Position Us
• Lost Opportunities
• – Missed Chances
• – Timing Off
• Poor Execution
• Second-Rate Partners
• Confusion
• Customers Not Supported
• Suppliers Misaligned
• Partner Conflict and Ambiguity
• Strategic Alliance Managers Unsure
• Value Chain Fragmentation or Degeneration
• Cycle Times Too Long
• Slow Delivery
• Poor Integration of Products, Services, Solutions, Technologies, etc.

Portfolio Management
Should have a Framework that is workable for users

• Process Framework must be:
• • Strategic & Targeted
• • Map Opportunities into Customer/Market-Focused Categories
• – Quickly drive high-level alignment
• – Linked to product and customer strategies
• – Caution regarding technology-focused or geographic-focused categories
• Structured Process
• • Disciplined
• – But also Simple & Easy to Understand & Use
• – Not over-engineered
• • Must Reflect Cisco Corporate & Business Unit Alliance Strategy
• – Allows Business Unit Exec. Sponsors to execute business development plans within pre-defined parameters
• – New Alliance Ventures must
• » support the Corporate and Business Unit strategies
• » Fit into the portfolio in a symbiotic manner
• • Agreed Upon & Used across all Cisco Units
• Standardized Tools for Category & Partner Analysis
• – Tools will Make Assessments Easier
• » Guidance on Decision Making for Opportunity Pursuit
• » Guidance on Alliance Transformation
• » Guidance on Competitive Strategy

Four Dynamics
should be Monitored to understand the Driving Forces in Market Space

• Value Migration in the Market Space
• Competitive Scenario Mapping
• Network Evolution & our Position in the Network relative to the Customer
• Life Cycle Management of each Alliance itself

NEXT STEPS

• WHAT DO WE DO TO GET STARTED?
• • Priorities
• • Leverage Points
• • Simple and Powerful Interventions