Here's how you can seize growth opportunities as a strategy professional.

One of the best ways to learn something new—including industry trends—is to talk to people (surprise, huh?). I often get overexcited about a new trend or idea, so it is important to double-check the idea or trajectory with a few different experts. "Humans are usually not bad at predictions, but we're terrible at timing". Ask questions and let people talk. Try to understand their context and WHY they have the opinion they express. Give them the proper context so they can tailor the advice, as they might miss an essential detail in a generic answer. A 360-view allows you to seize the opportunity while managing associated risks accordingly.

Assessing trends involves analyzing data over a period to identify patterns, shifts, or changes. This process helps organizations understand the direction in which certain variables are moving, which can be critical for making informed decisions. By examining historical data and recognizing emerging trends, businesses can anticipate market demands, adjust strategies, and stay competitive. This analysis often includes using statistical tools and techniques to ensure accuracy and reliability in the insights gained.

Synthesising information is a crucial factor in building strategy, especially for international growth. It's also where strategy often falters. To truly understand our customers, we need to integrate diverse perspectives into the data. We can look to our distributed workforce to offer culturally specific insights into customer behaviours and motivations (see: the importance of coaching teams to build and *maintain* robust territory plans). We should always approach strategy through the customer's lens. Diverse viewpoints deepen our understanding of behaviours, enabling precise and effective capture strategies. This holistic view keeps us agile and ahead of the competition by anticipating market shifts before they become mainstream.

Finding Growth Opportunities? Just keep your eyes open - Look at the World in front of You. Peter Lynch made Fidelity Investments Famous in the 80’s by finding the next big trend. How did he do it? On Weekends he’d take his Teenage Daughter and Her Friends to the Mall and then just watch where they went. He would bring a Notepad with him and he’d count Traffic Flows in the Stores. The Gap, Limited, Merry-Go-Round, Claire’s, Sunglasses Hut were all Great Growth stories in their Day. The Best Growth Investments are all around us - Put down your IPad and just Look at the World in front of You….

Continuously monitor market trends, industry shifts, and emerging technologies. Utilize data analytics and market research to identify growth areas and potential disruptions. Stay ahead by anticipating changes in consumer behaviour, regulatory landscapes, and competitive dynamics. This proactive approach helps in capitalizing on new opportunities and avoiding potential pitfalls.

Conduct thorough risk assessments for each growth opportunity. Consider financial, operational, market, and regulatory risks. Develop risk mitigation strategies and contingency plans. Balance potential rewards against the risks to make informed decisions. Implementing a robust risk management framework ensures sustainable growth and resilience against unforeseen challenges.

Working in project management has taught me that potential upsides are nice to have, while risks tend to kill your budget, time, and quality baseline. Hence, rigid and thorough risk management are paramount. This requires regular review intervals as well as a high level of awareness regarding behavioral biases and organizational blind spots

Understanding What Can Go Wrong and What the Accurate Worst-Case Scenario is, is paramount to developing a robust strategy to address any opportunity. Addressing these will boost confidence in executing the strategy.

It’s critical to proactively gauge risk. It often sounds cumbersome but here are some effective tools. Conduct an assessment of potential risks by identifying and evaluating potential threats to your business. This can be done through risk workshops, interviews, surveys, and data analysis. Then create a risk matrix to categorize and prioritise risks based on their likelihood and impact on your business. This will help you focus on high-priority risks that require immediate attention. Determine your organization's risk tolerance level by considering your business objectives, financial capacity, and appetite for risk. Create mitigating strategies.. Always monitor and review risks to identify any changes or new threats that may arise.

Identify and utilize your organization’s core competencies and unique capabilities. Build on existing strengths such as brand reputation, technological expertise, customer loyalty, and operational efficiency. Align growth strategies with these strengths to create competitive advantages and achieve scalable results. This alignment ensures that growth initiatives are both feasible and impactful.

The other day was I chatting up with a friend who is/was exploring an opportunity and he looked to me more concerned on other probable candidates strengths for the said opportunity. I said to him 'leverage what you have' play the battleground with YOUR strengths rather than being concerned about others potential. Like wise in business - its great to be cognizant of the competitors but inward delving with your own brand/business can surely deliver that necessary IMPACT. In-fact when challenged with competition very often you end of re-discovering OR dialing-up some RTBs (reason to believe) which were dormant. Will like to bring my favorite thought : always focus on what you can influence. Circle of Concern +Circle of influence.

?? Identify core competencies. Understand your company's strengths and how they can be leveraged. ?? Capitalize on strengths for competitive advantage. This may include brand reputation, technology, or expertise. ?? Align new opportunities with core competencies. Create a strategic fit for maximum success. ?? Leverage strengths to seize growth opportunities. Maximize potential by aligning strengths with new opportunities.

Be an insider and understand the strengths, current strategy to contribute appropriately. Examine your strengths in line with the company strategy and contribute

Concentrer ses efforts sur un point est crucial pour avoir plus d’impact, une fois que le marché est conquit ou en saturation, là est le moment de se diversifier pour trouver de nouveaux relais de croissance.

Cultivate a culture that encourages creativity and experimentation. Invest in R&D and support cross-functional collaboration. Empower teams to explore new ideas, technologies, and business models. Implementing innovation as a strategic priority drives continuous improvement and helps in discovering novel growth avenues. Encourage calculated risk-taking to foster breakthrough innovations.

Fostering a culture of innovation is great, of course. But hiring people with a consistent track record of innovating is even better.

Estamos en la era de la colaboración y más que la transformación debemos enfocarnos en la modernización es decir promover la colaboración y el intercambio de ideas entre departamentos es clave. Valorar y recompensar la creatividad puede generar nuevas oportunidades. La innovación va más allá de productos; abarca procesos, modelos de negocio, procesos lean y experiencias de clientes que se reduce en ganancia para la organización.

An example I've seen is a culture built on connection, courage and compassion. Where this is promoted, innovation is fostered and flourishes.

Fostering innovation starts by allowing people to break out of their usual routine. Create an environment where people can collaborate, build, and experiment - at best by bringing different skills and backgrounds together.

Seul on va plus vite, à plusieurs, on va plus loin et plus longtemps. A court terme le temps c’est de l’argent. à moyen terme le temps incite à la réflexion. Sur le long terme le temps fait partie intégrante de l’équation. Donnons du temps, au temps. Mais il y a temps, et temps. Alors soyons vigilants. Il y a ceux qui se voudraient éternels et ceux qui acceptent leur finalité dans l’espace temps et donc intègrent la notion, de prime abord évidente, de priorité. Et c’est là que tout se complique. Savoir prioriser. Cela nous ramène à la question mille fois entendue, vous en conviendrez : ??Enfin, tu sais ce que tu te veux?? Oui, construire des alliances !Ne pas gaspiller mon temps à developper ce qui existe déjà. Le début de la sagesse?

Clarity in scope and value addition from alliances is critical to them being successful. Otherwise, it could lead to vulnerabilities in achieving a sustainable strategy to leverage opportunities at hand.

Form strategic partnerships, alliances, and joint ventures with complementary businesses. Collaborate with industry peers, startups, and technology providers to enhance capabilities and market reach. Leveraging external expertise and resources accelerates growth and opens new opportunities. Effective alliances can provide access to new markets, technologies, and customer segments.

Create a good map of your ecosystem (on Miro) by mapping out your competitors and partners. Find axes, zones and name them. Then imagine that you want to shake up your ecosystem like a close-knit community. Look at the intersections, the frienemies. It is in these interstices that you can create value with your partners. On the edge....

Develop a detailed execution plan with clear objectives, timelines, and responsibilities. Ensure strong leadership and effective communication across all levels of the organization. Utilize project management tools to track progress and address issues promptly. Focus on operational excellence and agility to adapt to changes. Flawless execution ensures that strategic initiatives are implemented successfully and deliver the desired outcomes.

Una ejecución meticulosa y bien coordinada es clave para el éxito. Detalla cada aspecto del plan, asegura que el equipo entienda sus roles y supervisa el progreso. Ajusta según sea necesario para mejorar resultados y ganar confianza en futuros proyectos estratégicos.

Flawless execution is the linchpin of any growth strategy. In my experience, it starts with crystal-clear communication: ensuring every team member understands their role and the overall objectives. I foster a culture of accountability where team members take ownership of their tasks and outcomes. By leveraging agile methodologies, I ensure my team remains flexible and responsive to unforeseen challenges. Regularly monitoring progress through KPIs and being ready to make data-driven adjustments is crucial. This proactive approach not only ensures the success of the current strategy but also sets a foundation for sustained excellence in future endeavours.

Sorry, but flawless doesn't exist. Research looking at overall organizational performance and alignment of activities to strategy shows an 80% correlation. The implication of this is that aligning your activities to your strategy is more important than what the strategy actually is. So EFFECTIVE execution is key. Doing the right things (effective) is more important, therefore, than doing them flawlessly (one definition of efficient). The real-world is messy so don't aim for flawless. Instead, ensure your projects, programs and culture are aligned to your goals. In other words, in strategy execution, project prioritization is the key enabler!

Hier, et encore largement aujourd’hui, les stratégies (lorsqu'elles sont définies !) sont diffusées par mails et chacun doit exécuter. Une expression typique de dirigeants fran?ais : "Je décide de la stratégie et l'intendance suivra !". La stratégie doit être accompagnée dans toutes les équipes de collaborateurs, le manager a un r?le essentiel.

Building a forward-looking core team is at the core of every strategy initiative. The core team must have people who can bring ideas, challenge ideas, and implement ideas. The core team must have a strong combination of strategic and operational skillsets. Keeping in view the fast changing landscape, it is not easy to keep on adding people with contemporary skill levels; hence, continuous upskilling is essential.

First, being a strategist requires business experience. Like many other professions, strategy is a learning process that develops when fostered. And business acumen in different industries is often what turns a good strategist into great strategist. So as people work with different clients, solve unique problems, notice patterns, develop skills, and gather information, their strategic minds become honed and they are able to understand more and more what it takes to be great. Second, great strategists must become experts in whatever business their client is in no matter how complicated or how long it takes to reach that level of understanding.

Seize growth opportunities as a strategy professional: 1. Stay Informed: Keep up with industry trends and emerging markets. 2. Network: Build relationships with industry leaders and peers. 3. Upskill: Continuously enhance your skills through courses and certifications. 4. Innovate: Propose new ideas and initiatives within your organization. 5. Mentorship: Seek and offer mentorship to gain and share insights. Take proactive steps to drive your career forward. #DhandheKaFunda

In my experience, strategy professionals should seek out challenging market conditions such as downturns, restructuring, transformations, disruptions, and booming markets, as they provide the best opportunities for learning and making a significant impact.