Posts Categorized: Strategy

Does Culture REALLY eat Strategy for breakfast?

August 24 2021

I originally published this piece on LinkedIn back in May 2018, including some ideas sparked by the 2018 Australian Leadership Summit. That was back when we used to attend actual events! Am re-posting it today as it’s worth a quick read if you ever wonder about the answer to this time-honoured question. Have added a couple of 2021 edits or notes… Culture has been said to eat Strategy for breakfast (or lunch!). But does it really? When around 75-80% of… Read more »

The four keys to a great post-Covid workplace reboot

August 17 2021

Even if it looks in doubt again this week, there really will eventually be some sort of ongoing return to the workplace! So, are there any keys to a successful reboot? Yes, and being a ‘resilient’ could describe some features you as an executive can take into your workplace. I’ve just read Return as a muscle: How lessons from COVID-19 can shape a robust operating model for hybrid and beyond, authored by four partners at McKinsey. It’s very consistent with… Read more »

Leading through 2021 – more pivoting!

January 27 2021

What, more pivoting?? Some colleagues felt ‘pivot’ was one of our over-used words in 2020. In fact, one named it their least favourite 2020 word (mine was ‘seeding’, awfully overdone by politicians in particular). But if 2020 was indeed the year to pivot, what is 2021 to be? Of course for a start, it depends on the circumstances for any person, business, organisation or nation. Consider: The volatility of operating environments. The susceptibility of changes to funding or income streams…. Read more »

What’s the strategy as COVID-19 changes things forever?

April 24 2020

How should we shift our thinking right now to position for the lasting impact of COVID-19 on how we live and work? 4-5 weeks into the massive time-out forced on the whole world, we already have the opportunity for insight into this. FastCompany asked leading executives, venture capitalists, and analysts for thoughts on the change they expect to see ahead. AGILITY and ADAPTABILITY are going to be key, for us personally, and for business and workplaces. If you’re not already,… Read more »

Does culture REALLY eat strategy for breakfast?

May 22 2018

When around 70-80% of efforts around ‘change strategies’ fail to realise the gains they set out to achieve, it’s not just about poor implementation of a brilliant idea! Perhaps, culture is the real culprit… The famous ‘what eats what’ notion has been attributed to Peter Drucker, originating the phrase “culture eats strategy for breakfast” somewhere back in C20. Sometimes ‘lunch’ replaces ‘breakfast’, but the point remains the same. No matter how good your strategy is, your organisational culture is more… Read more »

Can you triple performance using organisational health?

April 17 2014

We’ve always thought there must be a great success secret somewhere, and here it is in the form of a recipe! But how do you know you have the right formula? McKinsey’s latest research from more than 800 organisations globally might just reveal the answer.   New research by Mckinsey suggests that the performance payoff from organisational health is unexpectedly large. Companies have four distinct “recipes” to achieve it. Performance-based organisational health is the capacity to deliver superior financial and operating performance –… Read more »

Change – it STILL means opportunity and risk.

March 14 2014

What would you do if your business was coasting along nicely, but operating in a sector where 90% of providers were about to disappear due to changes in government policy? If recent UK experience is a guide, this is about to happen in the community services sector, specifically with providers of disability support services. It could equally be any sector involved in delivering services as an outsourced quasi-government provider. For many very good reasons, the National Disability Insurance Scheme has… Read more »

Strategic Partnering

January 12 2014

Luc Bardin’s book Strategic Partnering: Remove Chance and Deliver Consistent Success (Kogan Page, 2014) shows the potentials and the pitfalls of Strategic Partnering and alliances. Performance improvements are possible, but some key factors must be in place before that is likely to be the outcome. These include there being a real need and desire for the change, and real potential value. A partnership can bring success only if it makes both partners strategically and sustainably stronger in the long run…. Read more »