22/11/2009 by Stephen Coe.

A successful business strategy should be stretching , but it should also be realistic and attainable. The foundation of all strategies should be a company’s competencies. They are the very essence that provide a level of uniqueness and competitive edge. The stretching occurs through leverage and development of those competencies into new products and services. Too many companies fail to get the balance right by ignoring these simple rules.

At Balmoral Strategy Development are processes ground strategies by devoting significant time to fully understanding a company’s core competencies. It is only then that we move forward into a discovery phase where we seek to identify areas of opportunity, where they maybe leveraged. This approach ensures that the balance is maintained and increases chances of success.

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

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15/11/2009 by Stephen Coe.

There is an old adage that you hire a consultant to tell you what you already know. This then begs the question why do it?

Well it is a fact that the concern of senior management is more operational than strategic, it is extremely difficult to step back from day to day life and take in the larger picture. This is where the consultant comes in, unencumbered by day to day concerns the consultant is truly blessed with a unique position. The analogy I like to use is that of an artist who lives under the partonage of a benefactor. Unshackled from the day to day need to provide food and shelter, he is free to paint his masterpiece.

Why is it then that so many strategies lack originality and spark? In my opinion too many strategies are reworked projections based upon historical data. They use the same old tools and  methodology as 95% of the competition, so is it any wonder that they come up with the same result. Think of it in terms of a jigsaw. If everyone as the same pieces they will all come up with the same picture.

To produce a differentiated strategy, a bold new approach is needed. An approach that is forward looking and that stretches the imagination, whilst still retaining sight of a companies core strengths. Returning to the earlier analogy this forward looking approach adds new pieces to the jigsaw and produces an new picture. 

At Balmoral Strategy Development , we have developed processes for companies that want to be different,  We develop game changing strategies that build upon core competence and that position companies to meet future and as yet unarticulated needs of its customers.

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

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28/08/2009 by Stephen Coe.

Competitive advantage is vested in a range of competencies which when combined provide a level of uniqueness. Sustainable competitive advantage requires maintenance of that level of uniqueness through continual development. Competencies themselves are a complex combination of; skills, processes, technologies and assets.

This is recognised by leading companies worldwide, which is why most have set up formalised competency development processes.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we term this a competency development plan and it is a fundamental element of our strategy development work. 

We also believe that this overall process can be cascaded down to an individual level and have created a process whereby competency development plans can be created for all employees.

Synthesis of these plans then allows company needs to be matched with the aspirations of its employees in an holistic way, with obvious benefits to all.

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

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05/02/2009 by Stephen Coe.

 I have spoken on several occasions of the opportunities that arise during a downturn. We at Balmoral Strategy Development firmly believe that decisive bold strategies  in a downturn cycle have the capability to redefine a market and generate long term competitive advantage for those with the will and determination to answer the call to action.

 Consider the following as a bold alternative to retrenchment

 Five point action plan

1. Assess risk and exposure and put the necessary mitigation in place.
2. Assess competitiors exposure and vulnerabilities.
3. Brainstorm for opportunities to take advantage of competitor weakness, look forward not back, focus firmly on emerging customer needs and indistry trends. 
4. Re-assess competencies, determine what needs to be strengthened or acquired to gain competitive advantage.
5. Develop action plan and implement.

Each of the above has many elements , particular attention needs to be paid to risk and competitor reaction

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

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26/01/2009 by Stephen Coe.

As many businesses struggle against the deepening recession, it may be a good time for small business owners to reflect and return to basics.

Consider the following

1. Why you originally started the business?
2. What enabled you to do so? 
3. Why were you successful?

It is a pretty safe bet that ambition, drive and passion figured prominently in the answers to 1

A set of competencies complemented by financial funding factor heavily in 2

A unique product or service (value proposition) would have been the key driver to 3

No once again consider the questions , but this time focus on what may have changed.

1. Are you still driving the business with the same amount of passion, do you still have ambition?
2. Have the skills, processes and technologies (competencies) been developed to keep you ahead of the competition?
3. Does the value proposition still hold true with customers, does it still provide differentiation?

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we believe that to stand still is to step backwards. Competitors will always be trying to gain market share at your expense. We believe it is therefore vital that a company continually asks itself these three simple questions.

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

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12/01/2009 by Stephen Coe.

When a company is launched it has a set of skills, processes, technologies that allow it to compete in its chosen market.  These combined are deemed core competencies and help define the company. Core competencies provide competitive advantage and their importance cannot be overstated.

Successful companies have long recognised the importance of developing competencies to meet market needs. however very few actually formalise a process of competency management.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we believe that competency primarily resides in people and define competency management as the co ordinated development and alignment of people expectations to company needs. Further in-line with competency development we argue that companies that can dynamically realign or recenter around a new core competencies, will maintain ongoing competitive advantage.

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

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22/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

Employee motivation is an old topic that has been debated extensively. The age old question of how to maintain employee enthusiasm and commitment is faced by HR executives the world over. The answer lies in achieving balance between company needs and employee expectations.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we approach the problem from a point of view of competence.

Firstly we  determine competency shortfalls and goals from the company view

Secondly we discuss expectations with each employee and again we assess competency required to meet their goals.

Analysis of all the data collected allows synchronised development of company and personal competencies to the benefit both.

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

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02/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

I define inner capital as the latent competencies and market intelligence that lies within a company. This capital is often left unutised because management either do not know it is there, or do not recognise its potential.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we recommend a formalised process with senior level ownership responsible for inner capital development.

Key elements of such a process would be:

1. Regular innovation workshops, where idea generation can take place free from the shackles of day to day business. Key data feeds into the process are competency and market intelligence updates.
2. A Venture pipeline, which allows the best ideas to be tested on an experimental basis. The mantra fail cheap, fail quick should be adopted and benefits of learning from failures institutionalised. 

For this approach to work senior management must be committed and provide the best resources to drive the process. There must be a recognition that 9 out of 10 Ventures will probably fail.  Most of all senior management must resist the urge to turn off the innovation tap in hard times and provide the Ventures with the necessary financial backing.

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

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10/11/2008 by Stephen Coe.

The internet has provided access to an almost limitless stream of information. With the right search tools it is possible to research and develop intelligence on a person, company or market from your desktop PC.

If there is a downside to this, it is that at times we probably have too much information. A new idea can quickly lose it lustre, when 30 minutes of desktop research reveal that there are already several companies working on something similar. Ideas can all too easily be ’squashed’ as  being too risky before they can fully form and develop. In the current economic downturn, it is only natural that we are seeing a more risk averseness approach.

So how do we avoid the stagnation in new thinking and product innovation that are the harbingers of recession? In one word ‘Alliances’. Innovate or die, partner to survive could be the mantra for the times

The benefits are obvious, access to competencies, quicker time to markets, economies in purchasing, manufacture and distribution and risk mitigation. Equally the negatives are well known, by seeking strategic partners we are exposing our weaknessess to competitors. Without a doubt , an hastily put together alliance will quickly be exposed and leave the participants in a vulnerable position. That is why before entering into any alliance activity a company should fully understand its goals and the associated risks.

At Balmoral Strategy Development, we believe the every company should consider developing an ‘Alliance’ strategy, to this end we have developed a workshop based process and proprietary tools aimed at identifying possible partners and structuring alliance opportunities.

Every partnership or alliance involves giving up some element of control and this is not easy, but we believe that if properly structured the benefits far outweigh the perceived drawbacks.

As usual all comments are welcomed - Stephen Coe, Diector Balmoral Strategy Development Ltd

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04/11/2008 by admin.

A fundamental question every company CEO needs to ask itself is; “do we have the competencies necessary to meet our expections”. A surprisingly large number would probably answer no.

‘Surely not’ I hear you say, every company knows the importance of training it people. Yes that it true, and there is the rub. Personnel training although an element of, is not competency development. As well as developing personnel skills; a company must invest in and develop new technologies, it will also need to develop its business systems and processes.

It is only when these elements are combined that true competency building occurs. At Balmoral Strategy Development we believe that a fundamental part of any strategy is competency building. That is why we place the identification and development of competencies front and centre of our strategy processess.

We advocate a 3 stage approach

1. Identify current competency strengths
2. Identify competencies needed to move forward
3. Formalise a competency development program.

As usual all comments welcome

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