Now You Solve the Strategy and Strategic Planning Crisis With The Two-Day Strategy, Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning Transformation Seminar.

The Current Global Strategy Situation

There is a growing consensus within the strategy and metastrategy fraternities that the concepts of strategy, strategic planning and strategy application are still not well understood by many decision-makers in many companies, organisations, businesses and economies around the world. The results are that most of what people call strategy is not real strategy and most of the strategic planning efforts are not producing actual strategic plans but basic operational plans with some budgets and industry forecasts; leading to “strategic plans” that fail to produce the kind of results and objectives real strategic plans are supposed to produce. Some prominent world leading experts and authorities in strategy and strategic planning voicing this concern include Professor Michael Porter, Richard Rumelt, Dudley Lynch, Henry Mintzberg and two colleagues of his, Dr Tony Grundy, Richard Kotch and others. Even the theories of strategy and strategic planning expounded and advocated for by ancient strategy luminaries such as Sun Tzu, Thucydides and Carl Von Clausewitz have not been well embraced and accurately and fully utilised in most of the modern day corporate and economic worlds.

The world has digressed in a plethora of directions from the original core theory and practice of strategy; producing many impotent, insipid, flawed, wrong and even dangerous versions of strategy and strategic planning, leading to a combination of underperformance, bad performance and failure of many companies, organisations, businesses and economies. In many cases, the problem is not even the presence of a poor concept of strategy and strategic planning, but the mutilation of the full and complete theory called strategy into fragmented pieces and with different individuals and companies mistaking the pieces of strategy within their reach as the full and totally of the whole body of knowledge called strategy. In other words, whereas real strategy is holistic, predominant theory and application of strategy is now fragmental and too discrete to produce kind of performance and results that real strategy and real strategic planning are supposed to produce.

A Common Misconception

When businesses and companies are performing well enough to produce profit, even when they rank lowly within their sectors and industry and even when they are underperforming when compared to their competition; they often assume that they are doing their strategy work right. This is a complete fallacy. Their only advantage is that every other of their competition might also be the same boat strategy-wise and only worse than them or it might by an accidental advantage that has nothing to do with their deliberate strategy work. This fact is world illustrated by Richard Rumelt when he warns that bad strategy does not mean the absence of strategy; stating that many leaders and managers of many companies, organisations, businesses and economies “think that they have a strategy when in reality they don’t.” They have some kind of plan or something else, but not a strategy.

Strategy Planning

When it comes to strategic planning, the concept and approaches to strategic planning have shifted over the years; more so in the corporate world. The history is long and fascinating will not be discussed here. The key point is that even when the global environment has drastically changed, the current approach to strategy and strategic planning in many companies, organisations and businesses has remained the same as in the 1970s. This 1970s' strategic planning model has begun to fail, even dismally in come economic environments, and yet a bewildering number of companies, organisations, businesses and economies remain stuck with it. This is at the core of the global strategy crisis that we world faces today; a crisis that needs urgent attention.

Metastrategy, Strategy, Strategic Thinking, Strategic Planning and Strategy Use in Africa

There is a growing and powerful argument that relatively limited understanding and appreciation of metastrategy and underutilisation of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning is a major handicap for Africa’s rapid economic development. There is also a very strong case that strategic deficiencies are at the nexus of Africa’s economic and human development albatross.

Many workers in the areas of metastrategy, strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning argue that Africa’s major economic transformation cannot take place without a major revolving in the understanding and application of real strategy and the developing is real strategic plans not just at the economic levels but more so at company, organisational, business and institutional levels. Where strategy and strategic planning are already in use, world leading authorities in metastrategy, strategy, strategic thinking and the use of strategy are advocating for serious review, upgrade and even a complete overhaul of the theory and practice of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning to eliminate bad and poor approaches to strategy and strategic thinking and strategic planning that are leading to bad and poor strategies and incomplete or pseudo-strategic plans.

Here is a summary of the metastrategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and the use of strategy in companies, organisations, businesses and economies around that world;

• There is huge disparity between what many people call strategy and what is real strategy
• The terms and concepts of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning are still not accurately understood in many companies, organisations and economies around the world.
• The overwhelming majority of what are called “strategic plans” in many companies, organisations, businesses and economies around the world are not “strategic plans” but operational plans with some targets, budgets, forecasts and some peppering of strategy lexicon.
• The misunderstanding of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning is causing many companies, organisations, businesses and economies to underperform (producing performance and results below their potential)
• In many companies, organisations, businesses and economies, there is not a common language in terms of metastrategy, strategy, strategic thinking and strategic plan and the common terms and concepts involved. For example, few companies and organisations have a commonly agreed, correct, accurate, complete definition and content of strategy and associated terms such as vision, mission values, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats, values. There is a general assumption that everyone within the executive and management terms and the whole organisation have exactly the same and correct meaning and understanding of the terms.
• Very few, if any companies, organisations, businesses and economies have regularly review their strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning knowledge, theory and practice. The result is they fall into a systematic error and also lag behind advances and research in the areas thus sliding into a paradigm problem that eventual lead these companies, organisations and businesses to doom.
• In spite of the serious negative consequences of the strategy crisis, many decision makers including some chief executive officers are yet to act, putting their companies, organisations and business in jeopardy.

The Two Day Metastrategy, Strategy, Strategic Thinking and Strategic Planning Theory and Practice Transformation Seminar

This two day seminar is one of the very few, if any events, in the world that seeks to address the strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning crisis that is being highlighted by a growing number of the world’s leading authorities in metastrategy, strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and the strategy use in companies, organisations, businesses, economies and institutions.

The first day of the seminar focuses on the strategy theory and practice and helps the participants to assess their current understanding and knowledge of strategy and also their theory and practice of strategy.

Day One Outcomes

• Delegates have a different, new, expanded, more accurate and more practical theory, perspective and concepts and models of strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning.
• Participants have assessed and identified their current theory and practice of metastrategy, strategy, strategic thinking and strategic planning and the use of strategy.
• Participants have reviewed and upgraded themselves on strategy and all the terms and concepts related to strategy and strategic thinking strategic planning
• Participants have dramatically improved their understanding of strategy and the performance and results in their companies, organisations, businesses and economies are radically different from the current because of the shifts and transformation in the theory and practice in strategy, strategic thinking, strategic planning and the use of strategy.

Day Two Outcomes

• Participants have assessed their current theory and approaches to strategic planning and implementation have discovered any flaws and mistakes they might have in their current approach to strategic planning
• Participants have accessed and understood better, improved and modern approaches to strategy and strategic planning
• Participants have reviewed all the key terms, tools and concepts associated with, and used in strategy use, strategic planning and the implementation of strategic plans.
• Participants begin to produce real strategic planning instead of half-baked strategic plans or basic operational plans peppered with strategy lexicon.
• Companies, organisations, businesses and economies are producing the actual results that real strategic plans are meant to produce.

Conclusion

Strategy is the most powerful and irreplaceable asset for every leader, chief executive officer, board member. It cannot be ignored or wished away without inflicting serious harm to those who ignore it and their companies, organsations, economies and businesses. Strategic competency cannot be faked.

[email protected] +263-77-444-74-38

?Simon Bere, 2023