​There are many challenges CEOs face in strategic decision-making. In addition to balancing the demands of running a business, CEOs are often required to make many decisions in a short period of time. 

As a result, these executives must prioritize and train employees to make the right decisions and quickly escalate the remaining decisions. This post explores some of the key challenges CEOs face. In addition, it explores the importance of flexibility and risk management.

Lessons learned during the pandemic
While the recent Corona virus pandemic has killed more than three hundred thousand people, the global health system did not adequately prepare for this epidemic. Despite the fact that the majority of scientific requirements for pandemic control were met, the global management of COVID-19 fell short of its expectations. The pandemic demonstrated that a robust crisis response capacity is necessary for ensuring the health and well-being of the population. It also underlines the importance of publicly accountable health systems, underpinned by the investments in people.

Organizations that survived the pandemic adapted to new environments by fostering a culture of creativity, problem-solving, and adaptability. Many of these organizations had adopted strategy models that did not take into account the dire circumstances. Those organizations that quickly responded to the crisis learned to adapt to the changing environment. Those that did not were forced to adjust their business model to accommodate the new realities and were able to ride out the pandemic.

Challenges faced by internal promoted CEOs
There are many challenges faced by newly promoted CEOs in strategic decision-making, including their inability to establish and maintain relationships with their immediate supervisors and peers. In the ideal scenario, an internal promoted CEO would have the support of all employees and colleagues. However, in reality, the new CEO will likely face opposition from former superiors and competitors. The new CEO must also assess all direct reports and key stakeholders quickly and build their own leadership team. The first step is to 'reenlist' existing employees through early conversations and identify those they can and cannot work with.

Boards should consider their own biases about internal candidates. Some internals may be stellar operators but lack the strategic thinking skills necessary to lead a company. Boards should be specific about the development needs of their key internals; observe how they develop and be open to a new narrative about them. This is particularly important for internal promoted CEOs, as they are more likely to be trusted by their peers.

Flexibility is an asset
Investigating the role of flexibility in strategic decision-making is critical. The concept is broadly defined as the ability to change one’s thoughts and beliefs to respond to changing circumstances. Leaders who have the ability to be flexible are better able to respond to unanticipated market responses and dynamic macro environments. There are many ways to improve one's mental flexibility.

In strategic decision-making, receptivity to change is an important quality of an effective CEO. A leader who is flexible in his or her approach demonstrates a willingness to learn from mistakes and adjust their strategy. The pandemic, for instance, demonstrated that even the best-laid plans can run into unexpected hurdles. A strong reviewing process helps CEOs develop the skills needed to change course or adapt to new situations.

Managing risk
Strategic decision-making is increasingly difficult for CEOs. New technology and disruptive business models require fresh thinking. Cybersecurity threats, disruptive competition, and the impact of a rapidly changing workforce all require rapid pivots and new business models. A pandemic requires rethinking everything - from organizational culture to leadership style and the workforce's evolving needs. CEOs must stay focused, adapt to new risks, and empower their teams to make the right decisions.

Delegation involves not only deciding who to delegate to but also ensuring that each member has the appropriate amount of control. Delegation is crucial, but the CEO must know his or her own capabilities to design a stronger team. When hiring, the CEO can broaden his or her scope and make more informed decisions. However, when it comes to making strategic decisions, the CEO must be conscious of the balance between reward and risk.

Communicating clearly as a CEO
As a CEO, you are often in the position to rally your team to win in a new environment. But you must learn to communicate in a way that keeps the CEO informed without the need for lengthy explanations and defense mechanisms. In addition to being prepared with facts, you must communicate new ideas and products in an unfiltered manner. I will briefly explore some key points that will help you communicate effectively as a CEO in strategic decision-making.

The first step in the CEO's role is to establish a culture of transparency and trust within the company. As a CEO, you must foster a culture of mutual trust among employees and subordinates. Communication is the basis for all business success and career advancement. You must demonstrate your commitment to effective communication by requiring and rewarding good communication practices. And make sure that those you lead follow through with this commitment.

​Checkout- Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence

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​In this post, I will discuss some of the best decision-making strategies in business. These strategies cover everything from choosing which classes to take to setting the course of a business's long-term strategy. 

If you're unsure about what you need to decide, read on. Then, follow the steps below to implement them into your business. There are many benefits to following these strategies. You'll find that making the best decision for your business is less complicated than you might have thought.

Identifying/clarifying the decision to be made
Identifying/clarifying the decision to make in business is one of the most crucial steps to making the right choice. It is vitally important to define the decision's criteria, which may be easily quantified or conflicting. For instance, the desire to cut costs may conflict with maintaining product quality. Other stakeholders may also have separate criteria, which must be addressed. The decision-making process begins by determining how to get the relevant information and how to value it.

Systematic analysis
Intuition and systematic analysis often clash. Sometimes intuition will give you a sense of an uncomfortable situation when a decision is made based on an analysis; however, one should read both sides of the ledger before accepting an analysis. If this doesn’t happen in the analysis, it might mean that more thinking is needed. So, one must reconcile intuition with analysis. 

Elimination by aspects
The model of elimination by aspect is a mental shortcut that is used to make decisions. People tend to eliminate features from their lists that they don't need, and instead, focus on what's important. It avoids information overload, and results in satisfying purchases. However, this model does not take into account the fact that a desirable attribute compensates for the undesirable one. As such, it is often used in the wrong way to make decisions.

In a multicriteria decision, you must consider the value of each outcome and eliminate alternatives that do not meet one or more of the criteria. This strategy is useful for short-fuse decisions, where the decisionmakers may only be considering a few attributes. However, if the decision involves many factors, it's advisable to use the expected-value approach, which is more precise. In this approach, the elicitor sets a cut-off value for the most important attributes and allows the others to move on to the next alternatives.

Forecasting the outcome of each option
Developing effective forecasts can make or break a business. Moreover, when a forecast is made with more details, it will be more accurate, ethical and quality-based. The quality of a forecast is a result of its detail, complexity, and inclusion of critical elements of the problem scenario.
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The first step is identifying the underlying causes of the problem. These causes will determine which alternatives are most likely to affect the outcome. Root cause analysis via cause and effect diagram, Ishikawa diagram, 5-Whys analysis and other investigative techniques are helpful in accurately identifying the underlying cause(s) of a business problem. The second step is identifying the decisionmakers. A decision made by person(s) who have no clear understanding of the problem situation may lead to a less profitable one. Hence, decisions must be made after considering views of all people close to the problem (process). Decisions based on a forecast that identifies the causes is more accurate.

Joint decision-making
In today's e-business environment, collaborating with partners is essential to achieve goals. But how can a company make joint decisions? A published research explored the influences of organizational factors on joint decision-making. This research collected corporate-level data through a Web survey and analyzed the data using a statistical method called PLS based on structured equation modeling. The findings revealed that joint decision-making is influenced by the knowledge creation capabilities of partners and inter-organizational process modularity.

An important point to note is that, the size and complexity of an organization can present some major hurdles to implementing joint decision-making. One common issue is overlapping responsibilities that can cause inefficiency and slow response to opportunities. Another major institutional challenge is a conflict between getting something done quickly and bringing the entire company along with the decision. Many times, fast decisions are celebrated and are not well-informed. The benefits of delegating/sharing (decision) responsibility are multiple, but the two major benefits are: the decision-making process becomes more efficient, and more people are involved.

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#operationalexcellence #decisionmaking #strategy #strategymanagement #decisiontools #strategicplanning  #challengesofdecisionmaking  #decisionmakingstrategies

​Top Ten Strategic Decision-Making Tools for Operational Excellence book is your Go-To Reference Guide to increase Operational Excellence at your workplace.

The top ten tools described in this book are popular for strategic decision-making. However, they also offer another significant advantage, and that is- Operational Excellence gets multiplied manyfold when these tools are applied to various business processes in an organization. And this book tells you exactly how to do that!

Not many companies have explored this benefit. But as a successful Operational Excellence and Continuous Improvement Consultant, I’m using these tools for over two decades, so can say that they work super!

This book describes the top ten strategic decision-making tools for improving operational excellence and how to use them right. Also presented are several illustrations and examples from different industry sectors to elaborate and explain the concepts.

So as a decisionmaker, executive or a business-owner, you would like to take your organization on the growth mode, improve business resilience and operating efficiency, increase revenue and profit, then this book is for you!
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Available as Paperback and digital editions on Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble and other popular stores worldwide!

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As leaders around the world steer their organizations out of the pandemic, many are recognizing the need for transformation. 

Some are trying to reimagine their cost structure to compete, while others are needing to reimagine their entire business model in the face of rapid industry change.

A recently published research study revealed that 3 out 4 transformations fail; meaning the success rate of business transformation is only 25%. So, the obvious question is- How to beat these transformation odds?

Here are four core factors for a successful business transformation-

1. Comprehensive scope & cross-functional initiatives-
The transformation campaign must be strategic, intense, and a well-managed program to enhance organizational performance and boost business resilience.
 
Further, the scope of business transformation must cut across all functions (of the organization) that impact the business’s topline, bottom line and engage a substantial quantum of workforce.

​Tip: Checkout more about workforce engagement here.

2. Cashflow management:
It has been found that forty percent of successful business transformation comes from growth initiatives.

However, what goes unmeasured or superficially measured, risks being mismanaged or even under-managed. Hence, growth initiatives must be measured periodically to guarantee success with business transformations.
 
Several metrics are available to measure organizational growth. However, I’ve found monthly cashflow management as the most powerful metric for measuring growth and the organization’s overall health.
 
In addition, optimal cashflow facilitates achievement of larger financial objectives. In fact, cashflow management increases the success rate of business transformation by 130 times.

3. Goal:
Business transformation is a marathon not a sprint. 

Done right, full business transformation can take from nine to eighteen months or more, depending on the size of the organization, countries of business operations, product mix, work culture, employee base and transformation strategy.

Broadly there are three types of transformation- Breakthrough transformation, Streamlined transformation and Incremental transformation. And the strategy must be designed accordingly. To know more about these three types of organizational transformations check here.
 
​For successful transformations, it is vital to step outside of self-imposed constraints and define what’s truly achievable (i.e. the goal) and then go after it with full steam.
 
I recommend setting a business transformation target of 75% (instead of 100%) at the outset because it increases chances of success. This goal must then be smartly stretched higher as the business witnesses the fruits of change.

4. Speed:
Quick wins fund long-term business transformation ambitions.
 
Therefore, value stream mapping and identifying low hanging fruits is key. This entails selecting business processes that are easy to improve and have a high positive impact on the topline and bottom line.
 
In my decade-long experience as a business transformation expert, I’ve found that successful transformation follows a trajectory. Here’s one such example of business transformation success track-

​Tip: Note that this success track depends on the organization’s size, culture, product portfolio and condition of business.
 
A quick sprint at the start motivates stakeholders, employees and boosts the business transformation campaign mojo.

Besides the above four core factors, a focus on communication, leading by example, engaging employees and continuous improvement can triple the odds of success. 

Moreover, the culture of continuous improvement keeps the organizational performance from stagnating (or even regressing) once transformation goals are met.
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Are you planning to install a culture of continuous improvement at your workplace?

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​#businesstransformation #businessturnaround #continuousimprovement  #howtotransformbusiness  #sucessfactorsofbusinesstransformation 

​Idea Management is an important and integral part of Innovation Management. There are two schools of thought about idea generation and its management. First, out-of-the box thinking and second, inside-the-box thinking.  

Out-of-the-box thinking as the name suggests is seamless creativity. While inside-the-box thinking means there is a boundary within which ideas are generated and managed. Wider the boundary, deeper gets the creativity.

And if more ideas have to grow from being on paper to becoming a commercialized product, inside-the-box thinking is the way to go.

​Because, for a business there is a budget to follow, expenses to limit, ROI to gain and investors to take care of. Every penny spent on innovation is accounted for i.e. where profits aren’t earned, the R&D expenditure gets written-off. And the objective is always to get the most out of the buck.

Inside-the-box thinking essentially means, innovation is done with a target product profile in mind. The aim is to generate large number of ideas to maximize number of potential ideas-to-product pathways. The picture above depicts innovation management via inside-the-box idea generation.
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Once an idea qualifies for becoming a new product candidate, it must successfully pass through the various stages of product development thru obtaining market approval and subsequent launch, to find its crown in the marketplace.

As you will note from the above picture, not all ideas gain ‘new product candidate’ status. So, what happens to the ideas, that do not get selected. Do they get dumped permanently? The answer is No.
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Let's analyze the ideas further- Usually, ideas get rejected because of three main reasons-

a. Technically idea commercialization is not possible.
b. Profit wise the ideas are not feasible.
c. The company is not keen to go for such a new product at this point of time.
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​Hence, let's first segregate the rejected ideas into three buckets as per the above classification and then review them one-by-one.

​Ideas that are not technically feasible now can become great candidates later.

​A classic example of this is Sildenafil citrate tablet. This drug candidate was first evaluated as a treatment for chest-pain. Later, the company found an alternate use of the drug candidate and channeled this molecule thru the development pipeline to launch as Viagra- rest is history!

​The second lot comprises of those ideas that seem not feasible in terms of profitability. Meaning technically, they may be good, but cannot be commercialized because of high cost.

​One of the classic example for this is- the Microwave oven.

Microwave oven was first invented in the 1940s, around world war II era. The first commercialized microwave oven was huge, weighing 750 pounds and costed $2000 USD. Obviously, it did not sell well.

The company worked on the technical aspects and the first domestic microwave was introduced in 1955. And that did not sell too. After many design changes, microwave oven gained access to our homes in 1967 and by 1975, they were in full demand.

A point to note here is that microwave oven invention was both accidental and EVOP (Evolutionary Operation) product development. Also, note the development timeline, from 1940 to 1955 to 1967 to 1975. i.e. 27 to 35 years from being an 'idea' to 'profitable' commercialization!

It is well-known that EVOP drains money. To avoid such bleed, concept of Innovation Management took shape. I shall be writing more about innovation management in a separate blogpost. For now let us visit the third lot of rejected ideas.

Now, let us consider the third lot of ideas- those ideas which the company is not keen to go for at this point of time.

​Such ideas must be worked upon in the lab to develop a small prototype. While prototyping, ensure that you build-in anti-counterfeit measures in your product. Then file a provisional patent application to stake claim to your idea and simultaneously block competition.
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After filing a provisional patent application, you have 12 months to file final PCT patent specification. Additionally, you get thirty months (from date of priority filing) to enter national phase i.e. do national phase patent applications in the PCT countries of your choice.

Hence, the company gets close to 30 months to scout for buyers who would be interested to license your product. Since a prototype as well as the patent is available (for the invention), you stand to gain better licensing fees at the negotiation table.

Also, resources need not be pumped-in immediately, as product development, process validation, scale-up and other related activities can take place over 12 to 30 months timeframe. This has dual advantages- first, R&D budget can be better managed, and second, R&D infrastructure can be better utilized.

Moreover, provisional and/or final PCT patents being intellectual property can be mortgaged on a short-term basis to banks or other financial institutions, to secure funds which in turn may be pumped-in to conduct research work or use it for other areas of the business.
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The philosophy of Innovation Management is to ensure, every penny spent on R&D must bring-in good return on investment (ROI) both in terms of profits and company reputation.

There are multiple pathways for conducting idea and innovation management successfully. The content presented above is one such pathway.

Also, the choice of idea and innovation management pathways depend on various factors such as- industry vertical, product mix, operating markets, corporate goals and more. Therefore, selecting the best pathway which will yield faster ROI with a first-mover advantage is crucial. 

Your choice of idea and innovation management pathway and its flawless execution will determine your business's very existence, growth and resilience.

An important question to introspect is- Are you building an idea and innovation management strategy which is the best for your organization?

​To know more about how idea-innovation management can help your company expand its product offerings, increase profit and earnings per share for investors, reach out to Shruti.

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​#innovationmanagement #patent #ideamanagement #stopcounterfeits  #blockcompetition

​It is time to reimagine work and workplace for the ‘new normal’. From high-tech to transportation, healthcare, retail, hospitality and financial services, industry sectors across the world, are seeing dramatic shifts in market value. 

The uncertainty of the pandemic has caused a lot of people to reconsider how they spend their money. So, what will bring shoppers back to stores?

As millions of shoppers were forced to go online due to regional lockdown because of the pandemic, new customer habits got formed. Now we see few established brands closing stores and focusing on selling online; but brick-and-mortar stores aren’t dead yet. Carefully cultivating the in-store experience is key to drawing customers back. Retail companies that act now to mitigate #Covid19 risks while delivering distinctive human-centric experience can emerge from the pandemic with stronger operational resilience, more agile organizations and sustainable competitive advantage.

Moreover, the impact of changing customer behavior is not just on the retail industries, it is also on all those manufacturing companies (such OTC medicines, herbals & supplements, cosmetics & personal products, packaged foods, others) that produce goods which retail companies sell.

The impact of Covid-19 on customer behavior has been sweeping and inevitable. To win in this next normal, both manufacturing and service companies can start improving sales by taking following six key actions steps-

1. Identify interactions: Collate all types of interactions that happen while conducting your business. Then classify those interactions into three categories-(a) Employee-to-employee, (b) Employee-to-customer and (c) Customer-to-customer. Now use data analytics to create customer persona and product portfolio. 

Note that this is a moving target meaning, customer personas change with time. So, make sure that the 'interaction' data capture is continuous. 

2. Create customer-centric product line by modifying existing products, develop line-extensions or new products based on the information from step 1. Build an effective innovation strategy and execution modality to gain market share. 

Use proven innovation management tools such as TRIZ, DOE, Hoshin, DFSS, DFM, QbD, Design Thinking, Agile etc. to manage your product portfolio.

Note that, using appropriate innovation tools brings-in trifold benefits such as- (i) Creation of customer-centric products, (ii) Speedy product development and (iii) Lower innovation / product development cost. As much as 30-40% cost-savings happen when you employ innovation tools while developing products.
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3. Diagnose all types of risks and then prioritize them based on their intensity. You may use a Prioritization Matrix to set-up risk priorities. Further, use risk management tools such as FMEA to prevent or mitigate risks. Once process/ product risk management activity is completed, the next step is to develop effective solutions.

4. Develop solutions that will most affect your products and business at large and begin executing solutions.

5. Adapt and calibrate your product mix as well as business processes to the changing customer persona and market landscape. Having the right product at the right time in front of the buyer is key.

6. Continuously improve your business. That is continuously improve your sales process, technical process and other business processes by using continuous improvement methodologies.

There are eighteen proven continuous improvement techniques you may choose from based your workplace size, culture and demands. Sustainable growth and increased profits are obtained with Lean, Kaizen, Agile and TPM. These methodologies may be used either singly or in combination depending on the process. You may checkout how to choose a business process improvement methodology for your organization here.

​In conclusion, rebalancing sales processes coupled with an on-demand customer-centric product mix is the lifeline for survival and growth of manufacturing and service companies today and beyond... 

If you need best expertise to help you with your business process improvement goals, sales target, reach out to us.

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#ContinuousImprovement #IncreaseSales #SalesProcessImprovement #Kaizen #Lean #TRIZ #FMEA #HoshinKanrii #Kanban  #BusinessProcessImprovement #ProcessDesign #InnovationManagement  #MarketSegment  #MarketCap  #RiskManagement #PortfolioManagement #NewNormal

‘Go- digital’ is the new magic mantra in today’s time of the ‘new normal’. The new normal induced by the pandemic compels us to work differently as we successfully wade thru the un-lockdown phase …

Clear and inspiring communication is central to making returning to work a success. In addition to moving decisively on strategic changes, leaders need to help unnerved workforce believe in the future.

Traditional ways of working are ebbing fast. Most companies have installed sophisticated IT infrastructure such as ERP (enterprise resource planning) systems, payroll programs etc. More companies are moving towards automation and digitization. Industry 4.0 involves automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, IoT (internet—of-things), cloud-based working, big data etc. Needless to say, this involves big money.

A well -defined post-pandemic IT strategy should guide cuts and investments. Consider following three points while building your tech modernization strategy-
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1. Define the target product portfolio based on current and new business with strongest prospects and most feasible funding models.
2. Invest efficiently and stick to the plan, operational and commercial excellence will deliver the strategy is full potential.
3. Create clear structure and processes for executing the new strategy across the organization.

Companies will also need to greatly improve their IT productivity to lower their cost base and fund rapid, flexible digital solution development.

Firstly, this requires quickly reducing IT costs and making them variable whenever possible to match demand. This means figuring out what costs are flexible in the near-to-medium terms. For example- by evaluating nonessential costs related to projects or maintenance and reallocating resources. Using process design methodologies such as CMMI (Capability Maturity Model Integration) can give first-class improvement in IT productivity while lowering costs to minimal.

Secondly, this involves defining a future IT product platform, establishing the skills and roles needed to sustain it, mapping these skills onto the new organization model and developing leaders who can train people to fill the new or adopted roles. Using process improvement methodologies such as- Design Thinking, TRIZ or Hoshin during new product platform development ensures a customer-centric product.

Thirdly, the adoption of cloud and automation technologies will need to be speeded-up, including bringing cloud operations on the premise and decommissioning legacy infrastructure.

Increasing the speed and productivity of digital solutions is key. To deal with the crisis and its aftermath, companies not only need to develop digital solutions quickly, but also to adapt their organizations to new operating models and deliver these solutions to customers and employees at scale.

Solving this challenge requires integrating business processes, incorporating data-driven decision-making and implementing proven change management models to manage the change. There are different ways to do this …

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​#ContinuosImprovement  #NewNormal  #ITStrategy  #DigitalSolutions