Original content provided by BDO United Kingdom
To succeed in the ever-changing business landscape, a well-rounded strategy that regularly considers all relevant aspects of an organisation’s risks is needed, one which considers both negative and positive risk. This approach helps to ensure that a strategy is well and truly aligned with the company’s overall mission and values and takes into account the business’s appetite for change and risk. BDO helps clients blueprint new strategies by thoroughly assessing their risks, designing innovative ways to safeguard against or exploit threats, and establishing roadmaps for success.
The traditional approach
A frequent criticism of the annual strategic-planning process is that it can be seen as bureaucratic and lacking in practical application. However, if executed effectively, strategic thinking can provide clarity and direction for an organisation, better align management teams on goals, reduce risk exposure, improve governance, and enhance strategic and tactical decision-making. It's important for the process to be tailored to the needs of the organisation and to make sure that it leads to actionable initiatives and positive outcomes.
Rethinking your strategic approach
Focusing solely on data-driven processes for budget and financial forecasting can result in a narrow and reactive approach to strategic planning. By prioritising engagement across the C-Suite and Senior Manager Levels, and better analysing trends, risks, and challenges, leaders can gain a deeper understanding of the external environment and the potential impact it may have on their business. A successful strategic plan requires the involvement of major stakeholders and should be based on forward looking methods, such as horizon scanning. It should also include a well-designed process to monitor progress and provide risk insights as to whether your strategy has a chance of success. This helps ensure that plans are up-to-date, effectively implemented, and provide valuable insights into the company's performance.
As a future-focused model, BDO’s ‘Rethink’ Framework helps leaders consider these factors and to identify critical risks and opportunities, driving a more informed and effective planning process, and more proactive and forward-thinking strategic plan. The framework is a unique approach to strategic planning that prioritizes the active participation of all stakeholders and encourages an innovative mindset. Rethink is based on decades of business thinking and aims to challenge traditional approaches to strategy development. It recognizes that the business landscape is constantly shifting, and that a flexible and adaptable mindset is necessary to succeed in today's environment. By keeping things simple, Rethink helps businesses to avoid getting bogged down in complexity and maintain focus on their core objectives.
Rethink is centred on strategic thinking, it helps businesses to re-imagine their future, refocus their resources, and regularly check their progress to ensure they remain on track. This approach is designed to create a more informed and dynamic strategic plan, promoting buy-in and ownership, and increasing the chances of success in a constantly changing business landscape.
Rethink allows for a more collaborative and inclusive process, as all stakeholders have a voice in the development of the strategic plan. This can result in more creative and innovative solutions, as well as a better alignment of the plan with the company's values, culture, and objectives.
Rethink as a strategic planning approach aims to create a more informed and innovative mindset for businesses. By evaluating the business model bottom-up, and by evaluating critical business risks, it encourages active participation and promotes buy-in and ownership of the strategic plan by all stakeholders. Rethink aims to strip down a business to its constituent parts. Using our 7P model, we work with clients to properly understand its Purpose, People, Profit, Performance, Productivity, Place and Processes, to define the business today. We then use this analysis, coupled with in-depth interviews, to identify the most important risks facing the organisation. We then work hand in hand with Executive teams to establish realistic strategic objectives and delivery roadmaps.
The bottom line
BDO’s Business Transformation Services practice helps organisations turn plans into action. We will help you implement your strategy to address immediate challenges while supporting long-term vision to build competitive advantage. Whether you need help operationalising your current strategy or are seeking to create a strategy from scratch, we can work with you to create the right roadmap for your business.
Contact our team for more information: Michael Jennings, Brian Murphy, Pamela Gillies.