![]() Achieving real impact today requires strategists to stretch beyond strategic planning to develop at least one of a few signature strengths. The starting point should be thinking differently about what it means to develop great strategy: less time running the planning process and more time engaging broader groups inside and outside the company, going beyond templates and calendars, and mirroring the dynamism of the external environment.īut this isn’t enough. There’s a way out of this box for chief strategists and other senior leaders, particularly CEOs, CFOs, and board members, whose roles are deeply intertwined with the formulation of strategy. But running the planning process still loomed large, ranking second in priority on that list, even if many respondents said they would prefer to spend significantly less time on this part of their role. In a recent survey of nearly 350 senior strategists representing 25 industries from all parts of the globe, we found an extraordinary diversity of responsibilities (13 by our count). ![]() Strategists have responded by increasing the scope and complexity of their roles beyond planning. For a recent perspective, see Roger Martin, “The big lie of strategic planning,” Harvard Business Review, January–February 2014, hbr.org. Henry Mintzberg wrote about many of these weaknesses in his classic Harvard Business Review article, “Crafting strategy,” more than a quarter century ago. ![]() While nothing new, the weaknesses of traditional strategic planning-characterized by a lockstep march toward a series of deliverables and review meetings according to a rigid annual calendar-have been amplified by the importance of agility in a rapidly changing world. Yet today’s unpredictable environment is utterly incompatible with what, historically, has been one of the chief responsibilities of many strategists: leading the annual strategic-planning process. Who better than a professional strategist to help meet the big new uncertainties of the 21st century? The discipline’s professionalization, which began in earnest in the 1980s as it evolved from the chief executive’s domain into a core corporate function, prompted the creation of heads of strategy, strategic-planning directors, and, more recently, chief strategy officers (CSOs). Many companies have an executive to guide their strategies. ![]()
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