1. How to Tell If You Have Strategic Deficiency in Your Organisation or Company 2 How to Cure the Deficiency and Transform Your Performance & Results

Many world-leading authorities in strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and strategy use are bemoaning a global strategy deficiency in many companies, businesses and organisations and even economies. They are preaching like John the Baptist to leaders, managers and decision-makers to revisit their theory and practice is strategy, strategic-thinking, strategic planning and strategy use but this call, the critical message is falling mostly on deaf ears. Most leaders and managers may already know this if they read widely; if they are not aware of this crisis it most likely because they do not read widely; they are out of touch with the trending in terms of ideas, knowledge, theory and thinking.

This lack of responsive by leaders and managers to such a strategic issue is not surprising because other researches have already established that when most people rise to top managerial and leadership positions; they undergo some kind of psychological metamorphosis that makes them develop a powerful sense of being always correct. Some researchers call is managerial frames; others call this managerial and leadership miscalibration, a phenomenon in which people in positions of leadership or management over-estimate what they know and underestimate what they do not know.

Some people in positions of #leadership and management are actually convinced that admitting that they don't know something is a weakness; so they would rather hide their ignorance than cure it through learning.

There is a very big misconception about strategy among many successful companies, organisations and businesses. They assume that if they are beating their competitors it automatically means they are right at the top in terms of their strategic acumen and abilities in strategy. No! They excel because many companies, organisations, businesses and economies suffer from the strategic deficiency syndrome.

The Importance of Strategy, Strategic Thinking, Strategic Planning and Use of Strategy.

Even though leaders and managers talk a lot about strategy and even when some even take degrees in areas such as strategic management, fewer people fully understand the importance and significance of strategy in general and in their companies, businesses and organisations in particular.

Except for problems caused by environmental forces and phenomena, strategy is the most important attribute that contributes to the performance, results, success, and failure of companies, organisations, businesses and economies. It is very difficult to hammer this point to most boards and top executives-mostly because their theory of strategy maybe weak, incorrect or incomplete.

The Tell Tell Signs of Strategic Deficiency in a Company, Organisation, Business or Economy

There are many signs and symptoms of strategic deficiency in a company, organisation, business or economy. Here are some;

1. The board members and top executives do not have a commonly agreed definition of strategy to use. If you ask the members to individually define strategy without referring to any book or online sources, they will produce different definitions of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning
2. If the company, organisation, business or economy is using traditional and common frameworks for strategic planning, chances are that they are not producing strategic plans but zero-strategy operational plans or something else.
3. If the board and the executive teams have never had course on strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning together so that they are in the same page when it comes to what they call strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning.
4. When some of the top executive teams and board members have never had any course, even a basic one day course in strategy fundamentals and they have also never invested their time in reading and learning around the area of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning.
5. When key decision-makers, top executives, board members and top managers are adamant that they already know everything about strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and use of strategy.
6. When decision-makers and top managers resit the call to review their theory and practice in strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning and the use of strategy means they are most likely perpetuating strategy deficiency in their companies, organisations, businesses and economies.
7. When people have ready narrowly in the area of strategy. It is rare to have two or more books by different authors in strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning to have the same perception, perspective and views on strategy, strategic thinking or strategic planning. Most of these authors never talk about the full strategy story but their favourite chapter. For example, Michael Porter's perspectives are different from Henry Mintzberg's perspectives and the views of these two are also different from Igo Ansoff's perspectives. You need to read as widely as possible to have a rich and most powerful few and conceptualisation of strategy.

Curing Strategy, Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning Deficiency in Your Organisation

Curing strategic deficiency is the most strategic thing that any board member, chief executive officer or managing director can do. It is one of the areas where you can do small changes that bring massive, lasting changes in your performance and results. There is no other way that brings massive changes in your performance, results and sustainability of your organisation than a change in your theory and practice of strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and use of strategy in your organisation, company or business. Here are some suggestions for curing your strategic deficiency.

1. Take strategy seriously
2. The second step is knowing where you are in terms of current theory and practice of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning. (Simon Bere has a half-day to three-day review sessions in the theory and practice in strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and use of strategy in your company, business or organisation. He also also has a comprehensive strategy awareness test that you can take on your own and he will review your answers.
3. Submit an old copy of your strategic plan to a competent metastrategist and he or she will assess if what you produced is a strategic plan or a basic operational plan. (Simon Bere can can review your strategic plan and comment on it for you.)
4. Pursue strategy mastery. Read widely in the areas of strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and the use of strategy in companies, organisations, businesses and economies.
5. If you cannot do any of the above, then get a competent metastrategist or strategist as your strategy consultant, teacher, advisor or coach. This is a fast way of getting the most important concepts in strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning without having to invest hundreds of hours reading books and articles and listening to audios on strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and the use of strategy. (Simon Bere has helped many entrepreneurs, chief executive officers, decision-makers and managers in the areas of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning and has developed and delivered many courses in strategy.Knowledge is not power, applied knowledge is power. Now, after reading this article, what are you going to do? Do something with what you read and learn. If you are ok in the area, share the article with someone because you can change someone's life that way. [email protected]? +263-77-444-74-38?Simon Bere, 2023