The Chemistry of Strategy. John W Myrna

six months by new Portland-area customers. Your greatest risk may be that you have to cover another year of monthly operating losses if it actually takes eighteen months or more to develop that business base.

       Strategic processes

      The chemistry of strategy also relies on a few simple processes that you will use repeatedly over time.

      

The qualifying of opportunities by asking and answering: Is it real? Can we do it? Can we win? and Is it worth it?

      

The repetition of asking and answering: What? Why? And How?

      

The strategic planning process of asking and answering of these questions:

       Where are we now?

       Where do we want to be in the future?

       How do we change the status quo to get there?

      

The use of team meetings called “swarming” that keeps the team on track. Swarming is a productive team meeting used to quickly complete an assessment of where you are, reach agreement on the next steps, agree on personal accountability, and define the next actions to be completed.

      In the next chapter, we will discuss what it takes to build a healthy leadership team. If you add up the total compensation of your executive leadership team, you may discover that, as at many other small companies, this is by far your most expensive asset. Improving the effectiveness of this team has an immediate impact on the effectiveness of the organization. Developing and implementing strategy, no matter how brilliant, is impossible without the right leadership.

       CHAPTER SUMMARY

       The Chemistry of Strategy

       What are the major concepts in this chapter?

      

Building a strategy to create your future is based on asking and answering three basic questions. What do you want the future to look like? Why do you want that future? How do you get there?

      

There are “strategic laws,” or underlying principles, that your strategy should take advantage of and which affect your ability to implement. These include the Drucker Phenomenon, the Pareto Principle (aka 80/20 Rule), the Experience Curve, the Law of Concentrations, the Law of Critical Mass, the Product Life Cycle, and the Risk/Reward Tradeoff.

       Why are these major concepts important?

      

The scientific approach of combining the elements of strategy while understanding the underlying strategic laws leads to a better future more quickly.

       How can you apply these major concepts?

      

Utilize a productive team implementation process based on holding meetings to quickly complete an assessment of where you are, reach agreement on the next steps, agree on personal accountability, and define the next action to be completed.

      

Utilize a proven strategic planning process that takes place in the course of one- to two-day meetings and that asks and answers the strategic questions. Where are we now? Where do we want to be in the future? How do we change the status quo to get there?

      

Utilize the “strategic laws” when setting strategies for focus, growth, risk, and timeframes.

       Chapter 2

       The Chemistry of an Executive Leadership Team

       “Good leadership consists of showing average people how to do the work of superior people.”

       John D. Rockefeller

       “Why do you try to form a team? Because teamwork builds trust and trust builds speed.”

       Russel Honoré

      “I’m frustrated with the tension and disconnect I see between my executives, John. I’m hoping that getting them together to build a strategic plan can solve my problem.” Bill was the CEO, owner, and founder of Friction PR, a very successful public relations firm. He had just signed a major new client and was worried that their own internal executive friction could prove disastrous.

      We scheduled the two-day strategic planning meeting for a Friday and Saturday at a local hotel, a neutral off-site location. However, the negative chemistry of the executive team would prove to pose multiple challenges, as you’ll see shortly.

       Chapter focus

      Successful strategy requires healthy executive team chemistry. This chapter discusses the importance of developing an effective five- to twelve-member leadership team with a balance of competing passions and sufficient strategic and tactical business understanding to shape strategy. It explores ways to develop mutual trust, strategic leadership, and teamwork.

       Team chemistry

      A healthy executive team is one in which each member:

      

provides strategic leadership, effectively communicating what the strategy is, why that is the strategy, and coaching people on how to implement it.

      

starts every discussion and decision by asking themselves what’s best for the company.

      

trusts each other’s character, competence, and caring.

      

understands, supports and defends each other, not only within the team but outside it.

       An effective strategic planning process will build and strengthen healthy executive team development and chemistry.

      An effective strategic planning process will build and strengthen healthy executive team development and chemistry. A poor one will damage or destroy team chemistry.

      Bill’s company had one of the unhealthiest executive teams I’d encountered. At the first strategic planning meeting I facilitated for Friction PR, the worst eight of negative strategy meeting behavioral archetypes showed up.¹

      

The Absentee

      

The CEO (as in Chief Executive Omniscience)

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