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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27/10/2009 by Stephen Coe.

Strategies initiatives fail either through poor implementation or because they simply do not deliver timely results.

It is the latter that I will discuss here, as I advocate that strategy development should be handled in a process managed way.

It is far too easy for a strategy team to go off tangentally from their remit into areas that are way beyond the company’s area of competence. It is also the case that teams will get bogged down in the weeds, seeking ever greater levels of data and in doing so failing to see the big picture.

A sound project management approach controls and reduces these diversions, it keeps the team on track and delivers results in a timely fashion.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we adopt an approach that is based upon Prince2 project management methodology.

Listed below are what we consider essential criteria

1.  Each project starts with the creation of a terms of reference, which clearly deliverables, expectations and contraints. This must be signed off by all interested parties.
2. All projects have a steering group , which reviews, assesses outputs and provides feedback throughout the process.
3. All teams potential members are subject to interview and personality profiling. Only when the right blend of experience and personality types are recruited does the project formally begin.
4. All projects are assigned a process/project manager, who is a process expert and experienced facilitator.

I would recommend you all to consider a managed process approach the next time your are considering a strategy develompent project.

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

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01/10/2009 by Stephen Coe.

I have just returned from the Leicester Business Event 2009 held once again at the Walkers Stadium. I must say that I was impressed by the number of people who took the time to attend the event. The deepest days of the recession maybe behind us, but there are still hard times ahead for many. That is why it was refreshing to see so many people networking and to hear once again talk of growth. What was equally refreshing was the number of new faces in attendance, young SME’s and start-ups busily taking notes and absorbing the advice and information that was on offer.

All the people that I spoke to, recognised the need for a clear strategy, that addresses the changed world that we now live in. This is something that has become a recurring theme of mine for those of you who follow this blog. If you have not already begun the process we at Balmoral Strategy Development encourage you all to do so as soon as possible or run the risk of being left behind.

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

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11/02/2009 by Stephen Coe.

As we reflect on the worsening economic situation and the calling to account of banking executives, it is all too easy to become blinkered. That is to say blame the banks for everything that is wrong today. Please do not get me wrong I am no bank apologist, but it does make me cringe when I hear everyone with a failing business blaming the credit crunch for their woes.

The fact is, that despite what some politicians say to the contrary, all economies have a natural cycle. So businesses need to be prepared to accept the hard times along with the good. The problem is we they became lulled and detached from this most basic economic fact, by a unusually long period of sustained growth. They believed because they wanted to believe the hype related to the end of boom and bust. The consequence of all of this is that many businesses grew complacent, failed to innovate and adequately manage their cash-flow. To put it simply they forgot the advice from grandma and failed to put aside cash for a rainy day.

No we hear complaints because banks will not extend their overdrafts. The simple fact is that businesses going bust in an economic downturn is another basic economic fact.

Consider this

Many businesses that start up during the growth phase, often do so without any real differentiation in their value proposition. They survive and may even thrive, because of the growth in demand. A case in point are the many new eateries that have sprung up over the last 5 years. With more disposable income, these restaurants filled a need as people ate out more often, some maybe 3 or 4 times a week. These same businesses only survived because of this usually high demand. History shows that it was only a matter of time before more normal behaviour returned and now we find that these same restaurants are now empty most nights of the week and are making significant losses. Plainly no amount of credit from a bank will rescue them. Their real problem is not cash-flow, but an unsustainable business model.

Another example are businesses that failed to innovate during the growth phase, content to rely on dated products and services. They would argue that business was holding up well and so they did not feel the need to develop new value propositions.

At Balmoral strategy Development Limited we believe that without differentiation there is now long term future for any business. Yes in a growth phase it is possible to gain market share due to shortfalls in capacity of incumbents, but in the long term it is a differentiated value proposition tht wins the day.

It is for this reason that we place Innovation and Differentiation at the centre of all of our strategy processes.

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

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15/01/2009 by Stephen Coe.

We all know the traditional methods of segmenting markets, that is by customer buying behaviour. Quite often many companies fall short due to a lack of hard market data and as a result most fall back into a standardised industry segmentation used by everyone, that ultimately provides no new insight and white-space.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we look beyond the obvious. We take into account developing trends and emerging needs to project possible buying behaviours of the future. With this approach we create new market segments that cut across many products, services and geographies.

The insights gained in effect redefine the market, provide the company with a direction and early mover competitive advantage.

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

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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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08/01/2009 by Stephen Coe.

Orthodoxies exist because at some point the process/service/product that they represented made sense.  The problems start when Orthodoxies become so embedded that they are no longer questioned and innovation is stifled.

When this happens companies face 2 major issues

1. Internal business systems and processes become inefficient and become financial and resource drains.
2. The value proposition associated with the products and services that the company offers no longer meet the needs of its customers.

 At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we urge all companies to setup a process and work-group that is mandated with:

1. Identifying orthodoxies and analysing the impact that they have on the business.
2. Challenging those orthodoxies and developing innovative alternatives.

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

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17/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

Customer needs evolve, but all to often many companies fail to develop their product to meet those needs. Many companies stick to their original business model because it is what they know and it has served them well in the past. They still see the sale of a product itself as the cash generator and all too often fail to recognise the opportunities that surround it.

These very opportunities are usually service based and as such provide the potential for real differentiation. Never has this been more the case than for High Street retailers struggling to compete with the Internet box shifters.

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we believe that every product sold has an attached service, which can be added to provide  customer value and competitive advantage. Our strategy processes delve deep into emerging trends and involve deep analysis of the customer. This approach provides insight into ‘pain points’ and is the starting point for a differentiated strategy, which has an innovative business model at its core.

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

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11/12/2008 by Stephen Coe.

Below is a brief process outline, which is designed to make innovation an everyday activity.

1. Set up a process whereby ideas can be submitted from all areas of the workforce to an Innovation Panel or Ideas Forum. We are looking for product, service and business process ideas .
2. Distribute the ideas to team leaders.
3. At stand-up meetings each group selects an idea for discussion and provides feedback on the idea to the Innovation Panel.
4. Feedback is reviewed by the panel and the best are selected for further analysis.
5. Form teams, which involve the original creators and subject experts and provide them with adequate resources.
6. Set the teams specific goals and questions to answer. These are a short term exercises (maximum of 2 weeks).  
7. Teams report back to the Innovation Panel and a vote is taken as to whether to proceed further. 
8. Repeat the process

At Balmoral Strategy Development Limited we would recommend that at anyone time, at least 2 teams are pursuing innovation ideas. The approach follows the mantra fail quick, fail cheap and as soon as one idea is discarded another team should be formed and a new idea researched. This approach builds a pipeline of ideas and embeds innovation as part of everyday business activity.

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

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