Exploring the Future
There are lots and lots of strategies around. Every organisation and business should have one! It sets out a vision and objectives for the future, and the means by which the organisation will achieve these. But many strategies are too broadly written, lack the buy-in of management and staff, and soon seem to be left behind by changing events. They really are just "blue skies thinking".
The effectiveness of any strategy depends largely on three main factors:
- whether the strategy takes proper account of the current state of the business and the trends which are likely to have an impact in the future
- the level of engagement of senior management in the preparation of the strategy, and their commitment to its successful implementation
- likewise, the involvement of staff and partners in shaping the strategy, and their understanding of how they can contribute towards implementing it.
The IDEAction approach to strategy development addresses each of these, working with the organisation's management rather than doing the job for them. It draws on the lessons of many years' work in the tourism industry and Scottish Enterprise, using:
- scenario and scanning techniques to identify future trends
- ideas generation workshops with managers, Board members, and staff
- external contributors and thought-pieces to challenge established mindsets
- wide-ranging consultation with stakeholders and partners
- balanced scorecards to translate the strategy into business plans and performance reporting
We also apply Futures thinking:
- to our approach to Working with Knowledge and the development of an Intelligent Organisation, and
- to the development of Sustainable Solutions.
Contact us to find out how we can work with your organisation to identify and implement sustainable solutions.
Read more about the experience and the techniques referred to above.
Resilience and Sustainability
What do we mean by "resilience"? Is it the same as "sustainability"? If not, what are they differences?
There is a lot of discussion these days about "resilient communities" and "resilient cities", for example in connection with adaptation to climate change. If cities and communities have considered the risks presented by disruptive climate change such as severe weather, flooding and high temperatures, and planned how they will respond to these risks, then they are boosting their resilience.
But is "resilience" becoming another trendy buzzword that is itself at risk of becoming too broad to be useful - a bit like "sustainability"? These questions are explored in more detail (click on heading above), and feedback and comments are welcome.
Plastic bags and the impact of a story
Finally Gordon Brown has stolen a march on his cautious environment secretary Hilary Benn by saying that he wants to see an end to the use of billions of free plastic shopping bags every year in Britain. Could it be that a simple story about wildlife in Hawaii has persuaded him, where no amount of reasoned argument has succeeded in the past?
Learning from our experience - a practical example
The latest calls in the UK Parliament for an inquiry into the Iraq War highlight the importance of learning from our experience. Too often it takes a high-profile debacle such as this before organisations and politicians are forced into holding an inquiry, whereas really we should be aiming to review projects and business activities on a regular basis in order to improve our performance in the future.
