Here's how you can navigate and minimize risks in your strategic planning process as an executive.

Minimising risks is a common mistake and can lead you to not doing or not achieving much! What you have to do is understand what level of risk you can take, and go “all in” with that level of risk. In fact, successful entrepreneurs normally skip this process, just because the risk appetite they have is really high, they don’t have much to lose, and they succeed! A good understanding of the risk appetite before drafting any risk is a great step. And it does not need to be overcomplicated. Think if that (say) 10M€ investment with huge upside but low likelihood can become a problem for your company. Can you afford 10M€ there? If the answer is yes, stop assessing and go for it!

To navigate and minimise risks in the strategic planning process, executives can: - Build hypotheses/scenario planning - Encourage risk awareness - Leverage data and analytics - Stress test strategies - Have contingency plans Risk mitigation isn't about eliminating risk; it's about preparedness. Executives can ensure that their strategic plans remain on course for long-term success by following the aforementioned steps. Hope this helps!

In all the strategies that I've developed, I always have included a piece for risks. This risk assessment contains not only the risk, but also an assessment of how likely the risk is as well as the magnitude of the impact if it comes to fruition. Most of the times I also create a countermeasure or mitigation plan that at least provides a high level plan plan in case the risk becomes reality. This key piece of the strategy is something that I communicate with the stakeholder. So there is a clear understanding of what are the risks, how bad can they get and what are the potential actions that we can take to mitigate those risks.

First of all, I would like to say that the phrase "risk minimization" is not quite accurate in itself. There are internal risks - we can indeed prevent or minimize them to some extent. But the most serious business risks are external. There is nothing we can do about a sudden drop in demand or an increase in bank rates. Working with external risks is to prepare for them as much as possible, to think them through in advance and to minimize the damage.

Risks are always going to be present, whether you like it or not. In my experience, it's not about eliminating or even minimizing risks, but having an approach to react to them on time. When you're able to spot risks of not reaching your goal, for example, you can experiment and shift your approach before a lot of resources have been invested into something that doesn't work. This is more of an art than a science, so I would advise to have a system where you track both your work and goals progress. This way, you will gain knowledge if the work that you've been doing contributes to the progress of your goals. Also, make sure to have regular reflection points to discuss if you're moving on the right track.

In my experience the first problem companies face is that they need an outside view to their strategy. This is very difficult to do in practice because we all have blinders. Running a war game, however, can help because you are forced to take an outsider view to the market and your strategy. This way, you discover the real risks that you are facing and then can develop mitigating them and the rest. In summary, the most dangerous risks that you have are the ones you don't perceive

It's important to understand, for each risk, how likely it is to happen and what is the magnitude of the impact. It's based on the combination of these factors that a mitigation plan can be created at least at a high level. This is something that we constantly review as we're executing the strategy so that we can quickly go from a overall mitigation plan to a actual action plan. I find that mitigation plans will vary depending on your strategy, and the company as well as the industry. But the key components will always be a combination of all factors that are under your control, including people, investments and resources.

In developing mitigation tactics, my focus remains on enhancing the perceived value of our offerings in the face of potential risks. This means safeguarding against losses and enhancing our offerings to meet the evolving expectations of our stakeholders, thereby solidifying our market position irrespective of external pressures.

Continue analyzing your business model with internal(SWOT) and external analysis (Porters 5 forces) for analyzing value proposition, value architect and profits equation. One key element of strategy is continue exploring.

In my experience, instead of having a decision framework, we normally have a governance board that makes decisions around the strategy adjustments. The only reason for this difference is that in many industries there are so many variables it's hard to predict an "if/then" decision framework.

To assess most risks, a standard "probability - impact" matrix is suitable, which ranks risks by the degree of their possible impact on the organization and the probability of occurrence. If you work in a large organization, you may have a risk committee of the board of directors or even a special risk management department. If so, they should select or create an appropriate framework.

Decision frameworks can be intensely complex. But my recommendation is to always start with a simple one. Ask yourself two questions: 1) Where might I need to make a decision? This question is about what will trigger the need for a decision. Meaning, "if x happens, then I need to be ready to make y decision". 2) What kind of action should I/we take? This decision may need a conversation with more people to settle on the best course of action. You might need a little more complexity in some decisions, but the vast majority can be made with this simple framework.

We utilize the CAPTAIN strategy method to develop a strategic plan. C is the Compass to create a long-term vision. A is to Aspire with stretch goals in the 3-5 year range. P is to Plan how you are going to accomplish those goals. T is to Trim down to the essential few that will have the greatest impact and greatest likelihood of success. A is to Act. Plan to start and finish. I is the Indicator, focus on leading Indicators to reach your destination. N is Next, learn from your outcomes and celebrate your victories.

Any business model can taken down to Value proposition, Value architect and Profit equation that can be put into framework using internal and external analysis. In case of any disruptive product by a competitors, these key attributes can still ensures strategic market position of that company.

No one fights strategic risks alone. You need to build a team of relevant stakeholders and involve them in the process. But be prepared for the fact that no one likes to deal with risk. Risk management is about dealing with what might not happen. Business people like to create rather than prepare for possible, albeit probable, consequences.

An important piece of all risks is to make sure that you are constantly and frequently communicating with your stakeholders. In most organization, it does "take a village" to react to changes in the market so you need to make sure that you have alignment and commitment internally with your stakeholders. This will enable faster decisions and actions, two key components of a mitigation plan.

This is probably one of the biggest enablers of your strategy, but I have seen many times it being the biggest “killer” of a good strategy too. If you engage the people you need to give credibility and support to your strategy, great! But you have to avoid the “good boy curse”, when asking too many people floods your strategy with different opinions and compromises, and that itself kills your strategy! Some buy-in is good for a strategy, too much will lead you to something that is more like business as usual

I prioritize transparent communication that revolves around shared value and collective vision. This approach does not merely prepare stakeholders for potential risks. Still, it actively involves them in the ideation process, transforming risk management into a collaborative effort that leverages diverse insights to fortify our strategic initiatives.

Many strategic plans die on the whiteboard. It's critical to obtain buy-in with your management team. The executive team should set the goals, but the management team should be a part of figuring out how you are going to get there. Then, management will have a higher sense of responsibility to achieve those goals; otherwise they will avoid the solutions because they will claim they are too busy.

I think it's unrealistic to separate resources "just in case" a change in the market happens. I think it's more important that when you set your goals and your KPIs for your strategy, then you clearly identified leading as well as lagging in indicators. It will be through your leading indicators that you will have the best chances to react as quickly as possible and as effectively as possible to the change in the market. Obviously you also have to have an organization that can move at the speed of the market. If it's not like that, then you need to be able to influence your stakeholders to push in that direction as quickly as possible, using your leading indicators as data.

From my perspective, emphasizing flexibility within the strategic planning process involves a dynamic recalibration of our strategies based on a continuous value assessment. This adaptability ensures that our methods are robust, not only to withstand risks but also to dynamically integrate new opportunities that align with our long-term objectives.

We recommend a consistent evaluation of risk and success. Do a Keep, Start, Stop review every six months with a long-term strategic plan. Keep the strategies that are working. Start on critical items that should be added. Stop doing the things that are not working. Stopping is often the greatest challenge for a high-achieving management team.

Continuous monitoring using dashboard having internal and external key parameters reported. Its also important to innovate your business model in case something is not working.

We can see example of Tesla. if we remember its positioning of electric cars during 2015-2016 when range anxiety for electric cars were kind of an issue for market acceptance. How ever Tesla did a great job providing a strong network of super charges not only in USA but also across NAFTA region. They had analyzed their main risk and its not just beneficial to Tesla but also to US automotive market. As Ford has partnered recently with Tesla for using their chargers infrastructure.

Once you do some scenarios for the risks, you can backtrend and determine milestones to see which risks are going to materialize. Couple that with an early warning system and you should be covered to a great extent, this is the searching mode, because you look for the milestones. However, you also must keep your eyes wide open for things and events that do not make sense, because they signal discontinuties and risks. I call that finding mode. You can't possibly develop all possible scenarios and it would not be worth your while either, thus, keeping both eyes wide open for discontinuties is also key.

There are some great decision support tools and approaches (e.g. FutureWorlds, business war gaming etc) that enable executives to explore potential future scenarios and better understand the potential impact & risks of a strategy or plan. This helps make better informed decisions that are evidence-based.

As an executive, navigating strategic planning involves meticulous foresight and risk assessment. Begin by conducting comprehensive market research to understand industry dynamics and anticipate potential challenges. Implement agile frameworks to swiftly adapt to changing circumstances, and foster a culture of open communication to mitigate risks effectively. Finally, regularly reassess your strategy, leveraging data-driven insights to stay ahead of the curve and ensure sustained success.