Five Ways Boards Can Shape Strategy

The most important role board plays is developing company strategy. An effective strategy helps the C-suite in the long-term direction of the enterprise to compete and succeed. Unfortunately, several firms, including Nokia, BlackBerry, Blockbuster, and Kodak, have failed due to the lack of board oversight. Boards play a vital role in reallocating resources to profitable growth areas, pursuing M&A to accelerate those shifts, and investing in capacity growth to capitalize on trends ahead of peers. All these happen when you execute on the right strategy.

Long-term value creation is directly dependent on boards oversight in shaping the company's Strategy. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

Here are five ways boards can shape Strategy.

1. Infuse trendspotting and create a growth strategy with a business context.

• Actively get involved in interpreting complex market dynamics and shape a vision for the company’s future. The future is tech and sustainability. Cloud, AI, blockchain, 5G and quantum are tech disrupters.
• Review business objectives, business goals, and approve the strategic action plan.

If you are not keeping the firm ahead of the competition in stakeholder capitalism both now and in the future, board refreshment is essential. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

• If you need to increase digital revenue, then approve the funding for the digital channels. Boards must have strategic inserts that decrease customer acquisition costs or increase customer lifetime value.?
• Boards must link AI and Cloud to overall strategy discussions. Move beyond technological pain points to product innovations and new features in making customers sticky.

2. Ensure your strategy and mission are anchored with a noble purpose as you reconfigure business and operating models.

• You make strategy real by developing meaningful relationships with your customers, employees, vendors, shareholders, and communities.

Business Context and ecosystem scanning are two sides of the same coin. Periodically adjust the strategy as you pressure test it with the noble purpose. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

• Your noble purpose must be omnipresent holistically across all these macro elements -technological, political, economic, social/cultural, trust/ethics, regulatory/legal, and environment. Don't forget microelements -capital allocation, revenue, use of resources, and returns.
• Avoid groupthink to pressure test your noble purpose during strategic planning sessions. Treat ESG as a business imperative in your strategic planning discussions.

3. Provide oversight of Strategy as a way of life by adapting to trends and disruptions.

• Instill a culture in which the team, and everyone at the company, could co-create the strategy.
• Your strategy must be resilient and flexible so that you can pivot quickly from unknown incidents like COVID.
• Inculcate adaptability and nimbleness at changing strategic agendas to meet the moment.

Treat trendspotting as a way of life by understanding customers, markets, and data privacy, regulatory and compliance. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

• Your strategy must be flexible so that you can respond to external shocks including cyber incidents and market pressures like interest rates hikes etc.
• Shape opportunities and make decisions about new ventures to pursue and old ones to shed. Don't get tempted by immediate issues. Focus on long-term strategic imperatives.

An effective board oversight enables optimal mix of simplification, responsible growth, digital transformation and digital optimization. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

• Boards must excel at asking intelligent questions that can dig deeper with trade-offs and opportunity costs.
• Boards must encourage senior management to stay connected with the policymakers. For example, DeFi is an area where banks must be deeply engaged.

4. Ensure Talent and Strategy have a symbiotic relationship to infuse innovation and growth.

• Talent and strategy are twinned and reciprocal -talent sets the strategy, and strategy relies on the right talent to implement it.
• Bring insider and outsider perspectives into the boardroom for simplification, digital transformation, and digital optimization.

Ensure every board meeting agenda includes the critical issues, management decisions, and the requested insights from the board. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

• Turn the strategy around with the help of the right talent and asking the right questions.
• Senior management must get insights from the expertise of board members for their strategic decisions. If the senior management does not use the board wisely, then you are bound to fail.

5. Encourage the CEO and senior management to use digital technology to meet the needs of all stakeholders.

• Encourage senior management to use data analytics to monitor the business outcomes of three- to five-year plans. Boards must be agile enough to stop any strategic initiatives based on the data.
• Assess the firm's digital technology maturity model in meeting the company’s money-making metrics and costs/benefits of digital transformation.
• Dissect a firm’s digital strategy — and keep verifying it continually through KPIs to win short-term and long-term.
• Help in the decision-making when setting plans by anticipating the early warning signs of failure.

Always ask senior management about all strategic options to spur the debate for effective decision-making. -Khwaja Shaik, CTO, IBM

Question:?What other ways can boards shape the strategy??Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

For professional insights into complex issues, join the?conversation by tweeting?Khwaja ?at?@Khwaja_Shaik ?or?connecting with him on?LinkedIn .

ABOUT KHWAJA SHAIK

KHWAJA SHAIK?is the award-winning C-level IT Executive with 25+ years of technology leadership with GE, IBM, BAC & PwC. He was recognized for technical acumen, Innovation, Cloud, AI, Architecture, and Cybersecurity. He has been instrumental in driving major Digital transformations involving the newest innovations, automation, cost reductions, efficiency, agility & competitive advantage to Fortune 500 firms.?

Khwaja’s life goal is to infuse purpose for a better future. He has built bridges with peers within the firm & ecosystem to accelerate growth.

Khwaja’s work style is defined by ethical values, authenticity, empathy, caring, tough-minded on standards “and” tender-hearted at people.?

Khwaja works closely with many of the world’s leading CIOs to address key industry issues. Using his innovative mindset, he helps firms use emerging technologies, enterprise architecture & roadmaps to accelerate business Value by embracing the product mindset, platform models, ecosystems, & doing agile right.

Khwaja is among the most exceptional IBMers appointed with the rare distinction of IBM Academy of Technology member. IBM’s senior inventor and top 100 technical leaders providing the direction of IBM with innovation that matters.

Khwaja spearheaded several large-scale cloud-infused business transformations. Selected accomplishments include the World’s largest modernization programs (Bank of America’s acquisitions including MBNA, Fleet Boston, LaSalle, Countrywide etc), world’s largest contact center platform, World’s largest Banking (Interact) platform for 5K BAC Banking centers, World’s largest AI-infused mortgage loan fulfillment platform, recognized bankofamerica portal & multi-clouds. In addition, as a Big5 thought leader, he reshaped core business and operating models—protected firms from cyberattacks, digitized end-to-end business processes thru AI & the cloud.

Khwaja holds an MBA (Global Management), and a bachelor’s degree in Engineering, with a passion for developing & growing leadership talent through mentoring, coaching, & retention strategies.?

As a global influencer, Khwaja frequently blogs on exponential technologies at IBM,?LinkedIn , and?Twitter . With his passion for interfaith and nurturing global talent in STEM, he serves on the Advisory Boards of?Interfaith Center of Northeast Florida ,?Museum of Science & History , McKinsey Global Institute’s Executive Panel Member, Gartner’s Research Circle Member, HBR’s Advisory Council Member, the University of North Florida’s?Computing Advisory Board ,?TECt, ?and?MIT .

Recipient of outstanding service awards from the University of North Florida, Bank of America, IBM, and Indo US Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida. Khwaja is a frequent international speaker at various elite universities, including IIT Hyderabad, CIO IT & Security Forum, MHI Supply Chain Conference, JAX Chamber IT Council, and Indo US Chamber of Commerce of Northeast Florida. In addition, he is frequently?interviewed ?for?industry insights ?or cited in the?news ,?Thought Leadership POVs , and blogs on disruptive technologies.?

?More details on Khwaja’s career and thought leadership activities could be found via?Linkedin, ?Khwajashaik.com ?or follow him on Twitter @Khwaja_Shaik

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