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DAVE NORTON IN SEPTEMBER – MAKING STRATEGY A CORE STATE OF THE ART COMPETENCE

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create value                                                                  Dave Norton says,  

“Behind every story of shareholder value, there is another story of value creation. That is the real story of strategy execution.”

Having had the privilege today to proof read the delegate materials for the upcoming Dave Norton Progress Conference on the 11th September, I cannot resist offering a little sneak preview of the 100 plus slides he has prepared for his South African audience.

In essence, he says, strategy must be a core competence and his presentation shows you precisely what you need to accomplish to make it a core state of the art competence. You can be assured of rich content with case studies and real life applications relevant to both the Private and Public sectors. His content flows seamlessly, offering delegates a deliberate journey through which they can contextualise their strategy execution efforts. And behind every success he shares with you he also tells the story of how the value was created.

THE STRATEGY MANAGEMENT VACUUM

First and foremost he will show how management systems have STILL not changed to keep up with the way the world has changed.  This is what he calls a Strategy Management Vacuum. He goes on to reveal his research into why strategies continue to fail and offer solutions to overcome this sadly, prevalent reality.

MAKING INTANGIBLE TANGIBLE

I was fascinated by his take on intangible assets and how describing your strategy begins by understanding the value the intangibles offer. He cites Apple, General Electric, IBM and others and will illustrate how Tom Stewart’s thinking in respect of how knowledge that exists in an organisation creates differential advantage. Dave remarks, “A good strategy focusses on the processes and people that have greatest impact on customer satisfaction.”

CLOSING THE STRATEGIC PERFORMANCE GAP WITH CAUSE AND EFFECT LOGIC

Dave has prepared a prolific set of strategy maps, scorecards and themes that have been applied within leading organisations. He asserts that your strategic theme is critical to create change and value.

“Intangible assets are bundled”, he says. “One initiative is not enough to execute strategy. You require a portfolio of several initiatives that are interdependent and cannot be treated on a stand- alone basis.” And again, he provides real management tools to show you how to include specific ways to define your strategic architecture, create robust strategy maps and tailor relevant strategy themes. In particular he provides delegates with specific Balanced Scorecards to show how they consistently fill the strategy management vacuum

LEADERSHIP IMPERATIVES FOR EFFECTIVE STRATEGY EXECUTION

Dave also says, “It is not a simple process for a CEO to mobilize transformation.” But his content goes on to provide tried and tested leadership essentials for certain success. He shows what is required in terms of left and right brain thinking to build your effective strategy management systems and why leadership issues are most often the dominant barrier to effective strategy execution. Just one barrier cited is how politics, in 89% of cases, is the major factor that prohibits the successful execution of strategy. Enter Dave’s right brain change management techniques and priorities, with ways to break down silos, get politics out of the way and cascade the strategy and scorecards to all key executives, business units and departments with appropriate accountability.

What follows on from there are the left brain change management tools that he has observed and that have been shown to achieve desired results.

MAKING STRATEGY EVERYONE’S JOB

Dave illustrates how Hilton Hotels did just this by linking their Balanced Scorecard to education, personal goals, incentive compensation and communication. Looking forward to how he will unpack this for us on the day.

SETTING TARGETS & FUNDING THE STRATEGY

Be prepared for prolific content and techniques to define your measures and targets and determine adequate funding.

SUCCESSFUL HUMAN CAPITAL DEVELOPMENT ATTRIBUTES

An annual survey of CEO’s Presidents and Chairman showed that Human Capital Development is the most important issue facing senior management. “People driven strategies counter slow markets and economic conditions. The Balanced Scorecard Hall of Fame shows that successful strategy execution begins with Human Capital Development”, he says. And then goes on to share the results of Public & Private sector results whilst showing you which are the key Human Capital Value Multipliers. He will also show us how to develop competency profiles for each essential strategic job family and in particular how to determine the gaps between individual and group level.

THE CHERRY ON THE TOP: BUILDING YOUR EFFECTIVE OFFICE OF STRATEGY MANAGEMENT: THE EVOLUTIONARY PROCESS

As he insists that strategy is a core competence and that managing strategy is a whole new ball game very different to managing functions, he will show you why new organisation approaches are needed to facilitate cross-functional alignment. He defines the responsibilities of the office of strategy management and suggests the best practices in terms of conducting your meetings and reviews to keep your strategy on course including frequency and structure.

This blog barely scratches the surface or even does justice to what Dave Norton has in store for delegates on the 11th September, but hopefully provides you with some ideas to provoke and challenge your thinking in respect of your strategy execution efforts.

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Dr David Norton is the co-creator of the Balanced Scorecard and leading global practitioner in applying the Balanced Scorecard in both the Private and Public Sector. Together with Professor Robert Kaplan, he has been acclaimed by Harvard Business Review for his significant contribution to the management profession in the past 75 years. More recently Thinkers 50 have ranked them in their Hall of Fame alongside Tom Peters, Kenichi Ohmae, Warren Bennis, Howard Gardner, Henry Mintzberg, Charles Handy, Philip Kotler and Ikujiro Nonaka for their mammoth contribution to business management and leadership.

On the 11th September 2014 Dr Norton will present a full day seminar in Johannesburg on EXECUTING STRATEGY IN A NEW ECONOMY – Balanced Scorecard Essentials.

CUSTOMER CENTRIC METRICS RESCUE RETAILER FROM STRATEGIC ECCENTRICS:

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CUSTOMERS TAKE CARE OF THE PROFITS – HOW INTIMATE ARE YOU WITH YOUR CUSTOMERS?

Tom Peters has long argued the case for Customer Centricity. At the 2011 Progress Conference he said; “The magic formula that business has revealed is to treat their customers like guests and their employees like people.” So what is his 2013 take on strategy and leadership? Think of this as “Tom Peter’s Balanced Scorecard”.

Leaders “Do” People

You take care of the people.

The people take care of the service.

The service takes care of the customer.

The customer takes care of the profit.

The profit takes care of the reinvestment.

The reinvestment takes care of the future.

Now, hold that thought.

In The Execution Premium, Dr Dave Norton and Professor Robert Kaplan evidence the magic of Tom’s winning formula. The book cites a case study of how a large retailer, Store 24, turned around their failed strategy by applying what their CEO Bob Gordon, called their Customer Intimacy programme as a key scorecard metric.

The Store 24 strategy, which was called “Ban Boredom”, seemed like a great idea and a sure fire way to differentiate them from their competitors. The original “Ban Boredom” plan was an exciting strategy providing an entertaining atmosphere with fun promotions and frequent themes. This gave store managers permission and discretion to find ways to execute on the strategy. They dressed up in costumes consistent with themes and holidays and activated imaginative promotions with great displays.

NOT EVERYONE WANTS “DISNEY” MAGICAL MOMENTS – CUSTOMER CENTRIC METRICS SAVED THE DAY

Unfortunately this “Disney” approach had an adverse effect. It seemed that while executed with good intentions, the result was failing on the customer intimacy metric.

It was most fortunate that this strategy was predicated on their “customer intimacy” programme. And by getting “up close and personal” with their customers, they were able to quickly abandon the “Ban Boredom” Programme after two years and replace it with a new strategy.

What their “customer intimacy” programme showed was that the customers valued their traditional strengths of good product selection, quick service and a clean environment. They did not value, AT ALL, the experience they were trying to create. Customers were unhappy with the inattentive store employees dressed in costumes and distracted by the ever-changing displays in store.

METRICS ARE KING

You get what you measure! It’s an old adage and one that could not have been truer for Store 24. Using the Balanced Scorecard approach, the retailer was able to assess customer satisfaction quickly. Not only were they able to change direction quickly, they were also able to identify interesting elements for a comeback strategy.

COMEBACK STRATEGY – “CAUSE YOU JUST CAN’T WAIT”

Their comeback strategy, called “Cause, you just can’t wait”, was wholly based on customer feedback. They realised that flawless execution was essential and further research showed the negative relationship between low skilled employees and operating profit. They were able to show consistently that strategy implementation was only effective when done at stores with high skill crews. They realised, too, that the ability for them to implement their come-back strategy relied heavily on employee satisfaction.

BACK TO TOM!

Which brings us right back to Tom Peters, “Treat your customers like guests and your employees like people. You take care of the people. The people take care of the service. The service takes care of the customer. The customer takes care of the profit.” Most readers will acknowledge that this is very much the Disney leadership model – the difference, however, is that it doesn’t mean that every customer wants a “Disney moment”. What does ring true is that if you get the people right, the service will follow. Get that right, and the profits are a natural result.

Having acknowledged the metrics, Store 24 brought back their traditional strengths as a key driver of their customer value proposition and replaced the “fun, entertaining experience” strategy with speed and efficiency as their new value proposition.

BALANCED SCORECARD WINS THE DAY

Had Store 24 not had a Balanced Scorecard in place, they may well have pursued their quirky “Ban Boredom” idea for many more years, with inexperienced and dissatisfied store crews having “fun” at the expense of their customer and profits. Scorecard metrics not only determine how organisations measure up on people, products, processes and resultant profits; they also provide a direct link to customer satisfaction.

Dave Norton urges companies to use an “employee-customer-profit value chain model” as their main management system.

Are you measuring the right things? Do you scrutinise the “employee-customer-profit value” cause and effect relationships? If you did, what might that value chain reveal and offer you in terms of a new strategic opportunity with a high execution premium?

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Dr David Norton is the co-creator of the Balanced Scorecard and leading global practitioner in applying the Balanced Scorecard in both the Private and Public Sector. Together with Professor Robert Kaplan, he has been acclaimed by Harvard Business Review for his significant contribution to the management profession in the past 75 years. More recently Thinkers 50 have ranked them in their Hall of Fame alongside Tom Peters, Kenichi Ohmae, Warren Bennis, Howard Gardner, Henry Mintzberg, Charles Handy, Philip Kotler and Ikujiro Nonaka for their mammoth contribution to business management and leadership.

On the 11th September 2014 Dr Norton will present a full day seminar in Johannesburg on EXECUTING STRATEGY IN A NEW ECONOMY – Balanced Scorecard Essentials.

BARCLAYS BOLD, CONCISE AND CLEAR 5 YEAR PLAN TO BECOME THE “GO-TO” BANK RELIES ON THE BALANCED SCORECARD TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

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In 2013, Barclays came up with a clear, concise and ambitious vision to become the “Go-To” bank. Antony Jenkins, Group Chief Executive, says, “The Balanced Scorecard is the final crucial piece of our plan; alongside our Purpose, Values and Behaviours to embed the right culture in our business.”

Dr Dave & Prof.RobertProfessor Robert Kaplan and Dr Dave Norton say a successful vision should be concise, simple and have a quantitative target and time frame.

Here are some examples of very BIG, AUDACIOUS, HAIRY visions that are not concise and quantifiable.

Google’s “Organise the world’s information & make it universally accessible & useful”–, Bill Gates “put a pc on every desk”; JFK put a man on the moon and return him safely to earth by the end of the decade.

Barclays Vision “Become the GO to Bank by 2015” couldn’t be more concise and quantitative by time frame. Essential to this success they put citizenship in terms of social and environmental performance at the heart of everything they do.

The 5 C’s of Citizenship at Barclays:

  1. Customer and Client
  2. Colleague
  3. Citizenship
  4. Conduct
  5. Company

Kaplan and Norton, also say that a successful Balanced Scorecard should not be cluttered with non- strategic measures. Barclays essentially have 11 metrics. To date they are on track on 10 out of 11 metrics for 2012/2013 and making progress against 2015 goals. How do some of their metrics stack up?

  1. 94% of almost 140 000 employees attest to the new code of conduct.
  2. 5,2 %  reduction year-on year in global carbon emissions.
  3. In 2013, they delivers 34bn in new and renewed lending – on track to meet 2015 goal of 150bn.
  4. In 2013, they delivered 13,4bn in new and renewed lending to SME’s – also on track to meet 2015 goal of 50bn.
  5. 1150 apprenticeships provided – also on track towards target of 2000 by end 2015
  6. 2,43 million young people supported in developing enterprise, employability and financial skills – on track to support 5 million Young Futures by 2015.

In 2012, when Professor Robert Kaplan visited South Africa, he was asked about the vulnerability of an organisation to replicate and copy your Balanced Scorecard giving them a competitive heads-up. This is what he said.” In my experience, it is not easy to replicate a scorecard as the passion, commitment and innovation in creating it, is crucial to its success.” Nicola Tyler, CEO of Business Results Group says this (and has been saying this for years), “The closer someone is the origination of an idea; the more likely they are to act on it.”

Research has shown that companies who implement the Balanced Scorecard enjoy 50 -150% improvement in shareholder value.

Sept. 2014

In 2014, BRG & GIBS will present Dave Norton – Live and in Person: Executing Strategy: Balanced Scorecard Essentials. The 2014 programme includes the latest findings and experiences in strategy, measurement, leadership, human capital and cross functional priorities and solutions.

Dr Dave Norton has most recently been honoured by Thinkers 50 in their Hall of Fame sharing this acclaim with Tom Peters, Warren Bennis, Howard Gardner, Charles Handy, Philip Kotler, Henry Mintzberg, Kenichi Omae, Ikujiro Nonaka and his colleague Professor Kaplan, for their mammoth contribution to business management and leadership. Harvard Business Review recognised the Balanced Scorecard as one of the most influential management ideas in the past 75 years.