What next?

Every now and then we as individuals take time to reflect on the past and plan for the future. Whichever way you do it, we ultimately all ask ourselves the same fundamental question: “What next?”

Every now and then the “What next?” question sets us on a course of deep reflection and self-assessment and every now and then, it leads us down a path of setting course towards new frontiers. We cast our eyes towards a new goal, we make a plan, and we begin implementing the plan.

Every now and then, organisations do the same.

Whether it is because a set period has elapsed, or it has been mandated by the board, or competition has announced a new plan which requires response, or a transaction has made it necessary, organisations arrive at this moment. And it is quite the moment.

The moment typically calls for reflection on the past - what worked, what didn’t and why. The moment also calls for a look across the aisle at competition; what are they doing that is working for them, what isn’t working, and why. In some cases, it calls for looking across borders and oceans at exemplars: what are they doing, what is working, and why. Eventually after looking at the past, and at everyone else, we take a deep look at ourselves and ask the question: “what next?”

What should we do, and why? How will we organise ourselves to do it? How much will the doing cost and who will fund it? And what does doing do for all the stakeholders who gain service or draw bread and butter from the organisation?

Invariably, all the managers in the organisation have a view about what should be next that is founded in their domain of expertise. If you ask a baker “what next?” they will probably want to bake more and better bread with higher quality ingredients. If you ask a waiter “what next?” they will probably want to work fewer hours for better pay and probably have direct input into the choice of fabrics for their uniforms. If you ask shareholders “what next?” they will probably want continuously growing top and bottom lines, ever better dividend payouts and ever rising share prices.

How, then, does an organisation arrive at its overall determination of “what next?”

That negotiation, that dance up and down and across the various levels of the organisation. The giving and the taking. The initial mutual agreeing on a few basic principles, and the coffees and lunches to gain acceptance of other important elements. The frequent presentations and collective executive discussions, the pushing and pulling, and the polishing and bringing to a state of general alignment. The use of certain key words and avoidance of others, the use of specific metaphors and acronyms, fonts and colours. The making sure that all critical stakeholders, all movers and shakers and bread bakers have had their needs addressed, and the moderation and sense-checking, the weaving of a narrative arc and painting of a compelling vision that all in the organisation can be inspired by.

Strategy is the collective corporate agreement.

It is the story of a future that not all may see, but should believe in, and that all agree to commit to and jointly work towards. It is the nexus of aggregated self-interests and collective goods, and the negotiated settlement between individual aspirations across the organisation and the organisation’s interests.

It is the equation finely balancing all of the “What nexts?” of all stakeholders, and all the people working in, for and with the organisation.