Strategy Services

Three elements or ‘cores’ form the basis of my strategic approach:

1. Sustainable Value:  organisation with people at the centre.

2. Complexity Theory; regarding the organisation as a complex system, and taking cognisance of the interdependence of outcomes, processes and resources.

3. Theory of Constraints: focusing the organisation at any point in time on it’s limiting factor.

1. Sustainable Value: A question of balance

People interact with an organisation for different reasons. Customers seek value for money and service; Shareholders seek return on investment, and Employees seek security and competitive remuneration. These needs become the Value Proposition that the organisation offers that person or group of people. The degree to which an organisation balances these needs determine it's sustainability. The following diagram illustrates the nature of this interdependence:

I regard the delivery of Shareholder Value, Customer Value and Employee Value as Primary Value Propositions, that is that they apply to any organisation, since any organisation must have these three components - at any point in time any one of these may have greater demands on the organisation.  These propositions are interdependent to a large extent, since any trade-off that occurs as a result of favouring one above another may have effects on the whole.

Strategy is a matter of prioritisation in the short term - determining whether shareholder, customer, or employee value is more important in a given period - and balance in the long term. In this way, synergy - the optimisation of interdependence - becomes achievable.

2. Complexity Theory

An organisation is a ‘system’. It is a particular kind of system: a directed one, one that has a purpose towards which it’s activities are directed. In order to achieve this purpose, it must necessarily achieve other, intermediate, outcomes. These intermediate outcomes enable the business to achieve it’s ultimate purpose.

In addition, the organisation is seen as a complex system, one whose parts are independently variable and therefore interdependent. The more complex the organisation is, the less the number of independent ‘chains’ it will have, and therefore the greater the interdependence, which leads us to...

3. Theory of Constraints

An organisation must focus on the limiting factor, the factor that prevents it from achieving it's optimum performance, at any point in time, if it is to create sustainable value.

The SIM (Strategic Initiative Model), a unique model, developed by myself, that employs rigorous logical audits of the strategic thinking process, enables simulation of the cause-effect relationships in the strategy. Assistance with determination of the requisite participants, distribution and review of the strategy as well as the soliciting of reservations, identification, communication and contingency planning with regard to obstacles, and determination of roles and responsibilities are included in the process. The strategic process is viewed, rather than a single-day exercise, as an ongoing process. In addition, the team will learn how to use the model, not only when changes in conditions may require altering the current model, but in applying their knowledge to other initiatives.

I adopt a 'zero-based' approach to organisational issues, starting off with the definition of the Future Desired Reality, the set of Outcomes that we intend to achieve. We then determine how this is to be achieved by focusing on the events necessary for  those outcomes to be achieved, identifying obstacles as we go and developing contingencies for those obstacles. The next step is to determine the necessary roles and  responsibilities for the resources applied to the initiatives, including due dates and interdependencies.

I do this all in a collaborative framework in which all of the parties having an interest or playing a part in the outcomes are involved. I  act as the 'glue' that coordinates the thinking and activities of all of the parts.

Derek du Toit

justd@justd.ws

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