The Clarion Call: Getting a Jump on the Competition

Summer 2010 Issue

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Getting a Jump on
the Competition

	by Kristi Marchbanks and Wendy Helmkamp, Partners

For most of our clients, the past two years have been a time of focusing inward, retrenching, and adjusting to new realities. At this point, however, many clients have stabilized and have found their “new normal.” Better still, they are telling us that they are beginning to see positive signs. As we look toward coming out of the recession, we see a unique opportunity. Companies that make good strategic choices now can catapult themselves ahead of competitors who are still in hunkered-down mode. A number of our clients have told us that they now have the resources and the confidence to commit to one new growth initiative, but that’s all, and they’d “better get it right.” Uncovering that one particular opportunity – achieving that leapfrog insight – has become their critical focus. At The Clarion Group, we have developed a framework for helping our clients spotlight opportunities, pinpoint gaps and identify roadblocks that slow their progress. Working in partnership, we help them with aligning their organizational strategy, structure and behavior in order to capitalize on the opportunities that better position them to leap ahead of their competition. In this issue of the Clarion Call, we’d like to share this framework, which starts with three simple questions: What will you do? How will you do it? And how will you know you’re accomplishing it? We’ll show how the framework helped one company (see Case Study A) analyze its current situation, find new opportunities, and realign its structure and workforce to enable it to move successfully in a new direction. As always, we welcome your comments.

Spotlight Strategic Opportunities

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The Adversity Paradox – how some companies succeed in the worst of times – once again tantalizes today’s executives. The challenge is, of course, how to become one of those paradoxically successful companies that can find new growth while others stagnate. The first question often asked: Is it even possible to reposition, grow, and achieve financial rewards in this economic climate? Certainly it is possible. However, it is the unusual business that is naturally positioned to do so. Instead, the successful performers have worked to position themselves for the future:

They have developed a successful strategy to carry them forward
They have uncovered the gaps and roadblocks that could stand in their way
They have a practical plan for surmounting those obstacles
They have devoted time to understanding the complexities of running their business in a shifting marketplace
They have a senior leader and executive team that are aligned and riveted on the critical imperatives that will get the organization through the challenges.

Doing Things Right and Doing the Right Things
The recent contracting business environment has caused businesses to retrench to their core offerings, shedding all “non-essential” activities. The business focus has been nearly 100% on doing things right. For most organizations that means optimizing, being efficient, and always getting the most bang for the buck. This is the natural, “work harder” response which traditionally gets organizations through short-term difficulties.

Over the long term, however, “work harder” leaves the company with an exhausted workforce that doesn’t have the time or inclination to innovate. In fact, change is often resisted; the do-it-right organization typically suppresses new ideas. As a result, do-it-right organizations inevitably become less competitive. There’s another insidious side effect: the overworked organization gets the reputation of being a sweat shop, and it’s that much harder to recruit talent and build for the future.

Focusing so vigorously on doing things right makes organizations forget the other side of the coin: Are they doing the right things? To ensure that the organization is positioned to take advantage of the next great opportunity, executives must come out of their shells and focus on identifying the right things, and then build the nimble organization needed to reach those goals. This includes identifying gaps and roadblocks that could prevent them from leaping forward, such as people problems, financial issues, or manufacturing or marketing challenges. For example: what problem are they solving? Why do they want to solve it? How can they solve this problem better than anyone else? What skills or tasks must they excel at in order to deliver? What structure and processes are needed to get employees on board?

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