Business’s key role in climate change
Shocking to hear from a former strategy advisor to the UK Prime Minister that neither current nor future Governments are likely to do anything serious about climate change because most MPs ‘don’t believe’ in it. I’m reminded of an observation by Dennis Meadows – that the public have a long-term interest, but no resources to drive change, and politicians have the resources to act, but only a short-term focus on the next election. Only the business community has both the long-term concern and the resources to do something, and many are already doing so, in spite of positively obstructive government policies.
[ Incidentally, do not be surprised to see me comment on climate change as if it is proven beyond reasonable doubt, extremely serious, and needs to be acted upon hard - which makes it a major issue for corporate strategy. (See other posts on sustainability, notably from MIT's SLoan management Review.) Whilst politicians are happy to express strong views on issues they don't understand, I only express views on issues I do understand sufficiently to comment. Most MPs lack even the basic scientific skill to have an informed opinion on climate change - and the same is likely true of most politicians in other countries. I accept entirely that some who have taken the trouble to investigate and understand the mechanisms at work may come to a different view, but the vast majority of people sufficiently competent to have an opinion are in clear agreement. ]
Spreadsheets no good for strategy
This blog post from HBS starts well, but ends in the wrong place, saying we shouldn’t try to quantify intangible issues. We do know how to deal quantitatively with such factors. We can handle both tangible qualities that differ between people, such as differing customer sales rates, and also intangible states-of-mind. A bank tracks ‘miserable moments’ their customers experience and knows well how recent history of those problems affects the likelihood of customers leaving. Call center companies know how workload pressures affect staff morale, productivity and turnover, and so on. Applying ‘artistry’ to the issue, as argued in this article, is not the answer. It is right, though, that you can’t do this with spreadsheet analysis – it can’t handle the interdependencies. The basics are explained in summaries from my book on attributes and state-of-mind intangibles. I can also recommend How to Measure Anything by Douglas Hubbard.
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Dubai strategy disaster
Strategy is not solely of concern to firms of course, but to public services, voluntary organisations and others [though you would hardly know it to read the strategy textbooks and journals, which largely ignore these vast sections of the modern economy]. The collapse of Dubai is a spectacular case of strategic incompetence, but also throws up an issue of wider importance.
More on sustainability and strategy
Two solid pieces on strategy implications from sustainability. The Business of Sustainability report from BCG reviews the impact the issue is having on companies and how it is affecting their strategic management. Most now see it as far more than just the latest fad and potentially a big factor in their future success – or failure. Sloan Mgmt Review summarises this report, 5 mini-cases on Nike, Rio Tinto, GE, Better Place and Wal-Mart, and articles on implications for competitive conditions and for talent-management.
Great piece on sustainability and business
Great video with Adam Werbach, author of Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto, shares an adaptation from his book and talks with the McKinsey Quarterly about trading in green fashion for more enduring business solutions. Practial and commercial.
Thriving under adversity
Some useful tips in this article from BCG, some simple, some complex [and some over-complicated by trying to force them into a 'evolution' analogy]. Especially good to see its focus on exploiting opportunity, and good not to see some of the bad or dangerous ideas I have mentioned previously.
Do take care, though – few are universally applicable, so you will need to assess how appropriate each is to your specific situation.
More items on strategy in the crisis
Amongst the continuing stream of articles on this, some good ones [I've left out some bad or downright dangerous ones] include: Read more
Update on the troubles with strategy
Here’s my latest msg to the B School academics [remember the point of this is to get some useful strategy methods for executives and consultants]. Will let you all know what response I get. Read more
Previous strategic incompetence in banking
Watched a great TV series recently The Ascent of Money presented by Professor Niall Ferguson. If you cannot view it, the book is probably good too. It makes the dry and obscure world of banking and its origins brilliantly accessible. One little nugget in the latest episode reminded me, though, that it’s not long since the last time those clever folk in banking messed up so badly that governments had to bail out the disaster at our expense – remember emerging market debt? Read more