Leaders inspire little faith from strategists

Our festive poll on the SPS website asked whether leaders will return from the Christmas break with a New Year's resolution for business strategy. Just one in five said yes, it's the best time for inspiration, one in ten said no, they have more discipline than that. The other 70% were less confident in the strategic sense of the corporate leadership.

Some 11% said they were unlikely to come up with a new vision for strategy, as it would be 'out of sight out of mind', while a similar number said they hoped leaders would not return with ill-conceived notions born of festive boredom. Perhaps most alarmingly, the most popular answer, given by almost 45% of respondents was that yes the leadership would return with a new strategic resolution but that "They'll have changed their mind by Easter."

This month we ask, which business functions are most crucial to execution of your strategy in the current environment? Vote now »

What's the very modern definition of 'a strategy'?

Members of the SPS LinkedIn Group have been discussing what a strategy consists of. Key to the discussion has been risk, and whether it should form part of the strategic process or run parallel to it. One member highlighted that he had only seen it run separately, while others argued reviewing risk in a vacuum was less useful than as part of the bigger picture.

Another argued there were two parts to any strategy: "Firstly the articulation of how the business will create value for customers (the value proposition), secondly how it will deliver this in a way that is profitable (the profit/business/operating model)." He highlighted that below these two components are a number of things and that risk would be covered as part of the profit model.

Other subjects under discussion include what went wrong with strategic management? Is strategic planning all about competition? And what industries are most open to the concept of strategic planning?

Join the debate with over 850 strategists in the SPS Group on LinkedIn »

Strategic connections

Uncertainty is unavoidable: it is part of the human condition never to be 100% sure of what the future will bring. Despite a glut of information, strategists today face more uncertainty than ever before. The more we learn, the less we know for sure. One solution argue Christine van Winkelen and Jane McKenzie of the Henley Knowledge Management Forum, is to position adaptability at the heart of strategy, building learning into both the approach to strategy development and the strategies themselves, using the well-established tools and approaches of knowledge management.

Read the full article »

The Strategic Planning Society is supporting the Henley Knowledge Management Forum conference at Greenlands, Henley Business School on 24–25 February 2010. For more details and to claim your SPS discount visit their website.

Value leakages in mergers and acquisitions: why they occur and how they can be addressed

It is often wrongly assumed that all the projected synergies of a merger or acquisition will be successfully allocated to the shareholders. Practice, however, is too often disappointing, and the expected increase in value simply does not materialise. Christine Benedichte Meyer analyses the reasons for this value leakage and suggests possible remedies.

Read the full executive summary »

Mobiles making waves, again

The widespread use of smart phones is enabling new ways of doing things, including research. The changes are creating new opportunities and new pressures.

More information about Shaping Tomorrow »

2010 SPS Annual General Meeting

The AGM of the Strategic Planning Society will be held on 20 January 2010 in the Mountbatten Room at the Royal Over-Seas League, Over-Seas House, Park Place, St James's Street, London, SW1A 1LR at 6pm (the nearest tube station is Green Park). The AGM is open to all members, so please do try and come along - there will be canapes and wine for all. If you would like to be there please email us so we can ensure all members are catered for.

Henley Knowledge Management Forum event

The Strategic Planning Society is supporting the Henley Knowledge Management Forum conference at Greenlands, Henley Business School on 24–25 February 2010. It will address how to harness collective learning to support better knowledge exchange, and explore how to improve the returns from making connections at all levels. SPS members can receive a 15% discount on the conference entry fee of GBP1,125. To gain your discount visit this page and enter the code HBSPS2010kmf or email Jane McKenzie. Non-member newsletter readers receive a 5% discount.

Ashridge Open Programmes

The SPS and Ashridge have teamed up to offer SPS members some exclusive benefits, the first of which is a 10% discount on any of Ashridge's open strategy programmes.

Ashridge has a wide variety of short, residential programmes to help individuals and organisations to achieve their development needs. These programmes focus on blending the practical experience of their faculty with leading-edge business thinking, to inspire and challenge you.

In addition, learning in small classes – typically between 12 and 30 participants – promotes collaboration on your own issues and ensures individual support, enabling all participants to return, better able to transfer learning to the workplace.

For more details, visit Ashridge. Please quote your SPS membership number when booking.