essential strategy
Better Strategy.
Simply Done.
What is Essential Strategy?
Essential Strategy is simplified approach for integrating strategy, risk and resilience to improve organizational performance and long-term sustainability. More than traditional strategic planning, more than enterprise risk management, the Essential Strategy approach is the foundation for building holistic and flexible systems that improve focus, risk visibility and performance.
Essential Strategy is designed around a Purpose, Growth & Evolution framework. It is based on the philosophy that organizational success lies in three simple truths: first, that an entity must have and pursue purpose; second, that it must be intentional about the growth of itself and its people; and third, that it must continually adapt and evolve to meet the needs and desires of those it serves.
A rapidly evolving business environment is rewriting the rules for organizational excellence and the very concept of competitive advantage is morphing right along with it.
Today’s leaders need INTEGRATED, SCALABLE TOOLS to drive growth & resilience.
Today’s businesses need high-speed/low-drag processes to support NIMBLE EXECUTION.
Let’s talk about a SINGLE SYNERGETIC DISCIPLINE that will rebalance your approach to Purpose, Growth, and Survival.
Let’s rethink everything we’ve ever been taught about strategic planning so we can design a whole new foundation for PERFORMANCE, EXCELLENCE & SUSTAINABILITY
Let’s talk about Essential Strategy!
Regardless of the type of business you're in, the size, complexity, industry, or maturity, there are three things that must exist in order for you to succeed long-term.
Purpose
This anchors your people, your clients, and your strategy.
Growth
More than revenue, this is about capabilities, maturity and contribution.
Evolution
Sustainability requires intelligent and timely adaptation to the needs and wants of those you serve.
Whether you realize it or not, every decision you make feeds one or more of these three foundational principles.
When you put one or two above the rest, you cause imbalance. The real question is whether that imbalance intentional and effective, or is inadvertently causing systemic performance issues.
Organizations move through a perpetual cycle of evolution and change. There will be times when it is necessary to focus on one of the cores (Purpose, Growth or Evolution) more than the others to achieve certain objectives. There are always risks inherent to these kinds of decisions, but that's ok because its not something to be avoided but embraced!
Effective strategic decision-making is not about perfect symmetry. It's about finding equilibrium.
It's about balancing healthy, calculated levels of risk within each of the three foundational principles (Purpose, Growth & Evolution) that align with your organization’s unique goals.
Discover that balance and overcome your next organizational challenge using Essential Strategy.
The Case for
Essential Strategy
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The statistics surrounding strategic plan & execution failures are simply astounding.
And it doesn't really matter how large or small you are, or what industry you're in.
Even more alarming is that the underlying reasons have never really changed..
We have designed a solution that's making a difference.
Here’s why the Essential Strategy integrated approach is so important.
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ESSENTIAL STRATEGY
Foundation
Essential Strategy is a simplified approach to business planning and execution that fully integrates strategy, risk, and resilience in an elegant, streamlined and efficient manner to improve organizational performance and create long-term sustainability.
The principles of Essential Strategy call for, above all else, a balanced approach to Purpose, Growth and Evolution. These three concepts are intricately tied to one another and represent fundamental principles behind the success of any organization regardless of size, complexity, industry, tax status or business model.
essential strategy
Design Process
How do we get there?
We follow a 4-step process of Discovery, Visioning, Pathfinding, and Performance-setting.
Discovery focuses on the analysis of internal and external alignment, drivers, constraints, and capabilities in an intelligence-gathering process.
Visioning ensures our purpose is a defining cause that is aspirational, inspirational, and participatory.
Pathfinding is the problem-solving stage, taking data to support decisions that align with Purpose, drive Growth and anticipate Evolution.
Performance is forward-looking, creating expectations for outcomes and decision triggers that are the hallmark of a nimble organization.
ESSENTIAL STRATEGY™
Performance Blueprint
The Goal: To develop 7 core attributes required to create a perpetual learning organization that is strong, focused, and resilient, fulfilling the contribution intended by its Purpose.
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Aspiration is a measure of both knowledge of and enthusiasm for the cause of the organization.
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Mechanism is a mission system that connects the day-to-day to the vision – this determines if you can you get there on the road you’re traveling.
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Alignment tests how well our people, assets and other resources are deployed to support strategy.
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Intelligence is the depth and breadth of data gathering and analysis for decision-making.
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Decisiveness is tied to the timeliness, effectiveness and relevance of strategic decisions made.
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Navigation measures how well we monitor our plan and its performance against outside drivers.
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Adaptation is the tangible ability to anticipate, manage and communicate change.
Praise for
Essential Strategy
“I really liked the model and framework for the SWOT Analysis and Risk Management. The actual actionable steps, the way Erin went about teaching this was unlike anything I had ever seen, and it made it much easier to comprehend and see how to implement the steps. The exercises were helpful and helped make the workshop more interactive and fun. I really liked having the multiple speakers giving their knowledgeable perspective on each topic. Keep doing what you are doing it was a great workshop.”