30/12/2011 by admin.

Read my thoughts on innovation, included in this blog over at Zintro

http://blog.zintro.com/2011/12/29/the-heart-of-innovation-part-1/

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30/08/2011 by Stephen Coe.

There is an old adage that consultants only tell you what you already know and to a point that maybe true. however, what a good consultant really does is to make you aware of the significance and inportance of what you know. Myopia is a consequence of running a busy enterprise. Executives seldom have time to step back to see the big picture.

It is the role of a strategy consultant, much like a movie director to create that picture and to tell the story, from the thousands of pieces of  data contained within an organisation. Just as a good story can be ruined by bad direction, bad strategies and missed opportunities come from the blinkered thoughts and short term focus associated with managing a business. That is why the outside voice is essential. Hiring a consultant brings a structured approach, methodology and no agenda. At Balmoral Strategy Development , we believe the most important aspect in the selection of a consultant is a belief and buy in of management into the approach and methodology.

As usual, all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

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22/06/2011 by admin.

Remember when you were young and school holidays seemed to last forever; when the only major events in your lives were birthdays and Christmas and surprises were greeted with joy and enthusiasm?

Contrast the situation that we face as we get older; our lives become filled many important/landmark events, so many in fact that we have to plan carefully, so that we do not forget or miss them, surprises and change become obstacles to be avoided, lest they impinge on our ordered lives. The result is our lives lose spontaneity and richness, in effect we stop growing as human beings .

So what does this have to do with business strategy? Well it is not hard to see the clear parallel, between how many businesses and individuals develop.

When the business is young it is uncluttered with ‘landmarks’; its diary is empty and it embraces the surprises that it is presented with, to the point where it actually seeks them out. It innovates and develops products and services to meet the challenges from competitors and the opportunities within the marketplace.

As the business develops; its ‘diary’ fills up with processes and procedures, it becomes encumbered with orthodoxies and develops robust plans/strategies for its future security and protection. All too often mature businesses not only lose the will to embrace change; but expend vast resources to prevent it, surprises (challenges and opportunities) are no longer met with relish or innovation . The business stagnates, there is little or no growth and old age and decline are its future.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited, we recognise that a ‘grown up business’ needs to have strong systems and controls and also a clear idea of its direction, but we also believe in; the need to maintain a ‘young mindset’ within the business, to embrace change, to challenge orthodoxy and to continually innovate.

Our strategy development processes are designed to create a balanced strategy based on strong administrative and innovation processes. In other words we take care of the present and embrace the future.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

Posted in Business Strategy | Print | 1 Comment »

02/03/2011 by admin.

Implementation Planning is a key part of the strategy process and one that is all too often under resourced. A common failing of senior management is thinking that the job is done once a strategy is developed. This is fundamently wrong, no matter how brilliant or differentiating the strategy is, there is little hope of success if the strategy is not communicated and implemented effectively.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Ltd we recognise the importance of implementation, which is why have developed specific tools for the process. Strategy development is hard work, the process is intense and mentally fatiguing, which is why our process calls for a temporary pause in activity to allow those involved to catch their breath and to absorb what had been developed.  In some cases we recommend the dispersal of the development team and the formation of a new implementation team.

The implementation team have very specific roles and responsibilities and more closely resemble those found in major project development teams. For instance there is a specific role for a communications manager, whose responsibilities involve the dissemination of the appropriate level information to all levels of employee within an organisation. We know that communication is critical and without it a strategy no matter how brilliant will be doomed to failure.

I urge you all to consider implementation when considering embarking on a strategy development project, recognise its importance and resource it fully.

As usual all comments welcome  - Stephen Coe - Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited 

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18/11/2010 by admin.

Today I have a challenge for you all and it is really simple.

1. When next you take a timeout from your day and write down 5 things that you do everyday as part of your daily work routine.
2. Then ask yourself what would happen if you did not do those 5 things. The chances are that for at least one of them, there no adverse circumstances would immediately result. In other words the world would carry on more or less as before.
3. Finally consider the other other tasks on your list and their outputs and privately brainstorm how you might achieve the same outputs , but in a different way.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Ltd, we believe that challenging Orthodoxies represent major opportunities for both internal and external business innovation .

Further I would add that successful innovative companies recognise this to the extent that they develop processes that challenge orthodoxies, until the behaviour becomes a fundamental part of the company’s culture.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director , Balmoral Strategy Development Limited.

Posted in Innovation, Orthodoxies, Business Strategy | Print | 1 Comment »

14/10/2010 by admin.

I have been reading quite a bit lately about the use of micro blogging sites, such as Twitter as a cheap and fast way of reaching out to the marketplace, but in reality how effective is it?

I would be most interested to hear from any readers of this Blog, who have used Twitter as part of their marketing strategy as t ohow effective they have found it to be.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe , Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited

Posted in Innovation, Technology, Business Strategy | Print | 1 Comment »

20/07/2010 by admin.

I have been quiet for a while ’blog wise’ and to be quite honest I have found myself lacking in inspiration. I spend a great deal of time reading articles, journals and books on all manner of business related subjects and have found very little in the last six months that has jumped out of the page and caught my attention.

For me the event that is most likely to have a long term effect on the way we do business is the continuing problems of BP in the gulf. The disaster has enabled environmentalists to make strong gains against the fossil fuel lobby and it has in my opinion advanced the case for renewables considerably.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we are keen to hear from the many readers of this blog, what you feel has been the outstanding event of the first half of 2010, specifically regarding its impact on the way we will do business going forward.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe , Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited

Posted in Trends, Customer Insight, Business Strategy | Print | 1 Comment »

11/05/2010 by admin.

I was reading through a list of recently published books on strategy development and it provoked me to make my own list of books/writers that have influenced my own thinking and approach.

My own top three are:

1. Competing for the future - Gary Hamel and C.K Prahalad

2. The Innovators Dilemma - Clayton M Christensen

3. Blue Ocean Strategy - W. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne

Of course there are many others and it is hard to leave out the works of Micheal Porter, but the main difference I found with the 3 books above, was that they bring a real sense of excitement to the process. We feel that it is fundamental to only have fully engaged and enthused people on strategy projects and place great emphasis on team selection. It is also why at Balmoral Strategy Development Limited, we make great efforts to make our strategy development processes innovative and exciting.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral Strategy Development Limited

Posted in Strategy Process, Business Strategy, Uncategorized | Print | 1 Comment »

24/12/2009 by Stephen Coe.

As the year  and in fact the decade comes to a close I would like to take this opportunity to wish all readers of this blog a very Happy Christmas and New Year.

Please join me in a toast to the end of the recession and a long period of economic growth.

Stephen Coe - Director, Balmoral Strategy Development Limited

Posted in Economy, Events | Print | No Comments »

14/12/2009 by Stephen Coe.

Anyone who has managed a business during the last 18 months, does not need me to tell them how hard times have been and how things have changed.

Many will have experience of competitors and customers , who are no longer trading, whilst many more are clinging on by their fingertips. 

It is a fair bet that every senior manager can quote chapter and verse on how his company has been effected, but how many have anything more than a top level understanding of how their customers have been affected. So as we start to emerge from recession my question to you all is, have you considered the relevance of your value proposition? Does it still reflect the needs of your customer of your customers and offer value?

 I urge you all to undertake an exercise as soon as possible in order to find the ansers to these questions. Failure to do so , could put you at a disadvantage when compared with your competitors.

As usual all comments welcome - Stephen Coe, Director Balmoral strategy Development Limited

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Posted in Economy, Customer Insight, Business Strategy | Print | 1 Comment »