Strategy formation process: deliberate or emergent?

What does it take to develop a new business strategy? What roles do creativity and innovation play?

Conventional (right brain) theories fail to provide a clear answer to these questions. A single-sided narrative, based on rationality only, falls short in capturing the complexity of human beings, and their creative abilities.

It is time to finally embrace our creative side, to think differently, to imagine something that is not possible just yet.

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[tianliyao]

Really good. Feels like to some point it's a question beyond organising a company but also how to live as a human being and organising a country

[lehlohonolomazindo]

Thank you so much Stefano! You explained it for even the man on the street to understand it.

[matanep]

Thanks Mr Stefano. Perfect explained. Why books and some others notes unable to provide such explanation.

[petez]

So good. Thank you. I am a designer and design researcher looking to get a good grasp on business and design strategy.

[tkn]

Wooow, so easy to understand from your explanation

[BrianSokhulu]

These two theories actually work hand in hand in an organisation. Like a feedback mechanism.

Of course the strategy itself has to be deliberate in the sense that it has to achieve certain objectives when executed at the operational level.

But the response from there back to the senior level allows them to measure the emergence of that organisation, and then create more suitable strategies that will deliberately help the organisation emerge in that desired direction, as learned from the feedback received.

Deliberate emergence...

[narenikka]

Thank you so much. You made things easier for me. Liked and subscribed.

[carmensantangelo]

Grazie per questo video Stefano,
tra l'altro l'argomento è stato oggetto di domanda all'esame di strategic management. Sto finendo un master in business administration ed ho davvero apprezzato la chiarezza del ragionamento (chiarezza che spesso manca nel modo di ragionare dei "business people"...).
Sono molto interessata al Design Thinking course, mi informerò dopo che avrò consegnato la tesi :)

[BrianSokhulu]

At the beginning you say that it is the people at the operational level who recognize the need for a new strategy to be implemented, and then the people at the senior level are then responsible for formulating that strategy.

Then at 3:00 you say that there is now a one way arrow between the senior level to the people that implement the strategy.

Isn't there also a one way communication when the people at the operational level are raising the need for a new strategy?

So with that, then this means it's an ongoing communication between the operational people (doers) and the senior management (thinkers). Like the body and the mind.

The mind tells the body to do things and the body responds. And where the body is unable to do what the mind wants it to do it does respond back to the mind and the mind has to now think of another way. A way that the body will be able to do that thing.

Isn't that's how it's supposed to be like?

Now to talk about this divide. I think the mind is part of the body. It's a divide in the sense of - mind, body and soul. But it's not a complete isolation divide because there's that co-dependence between the two. And I think that's where the soul comes in. The bridge that connects the two.

[syedmohsinzaidi]

Hey thanks buddy. this video was helpful. :)

[didaraangelika]

thank you very much!!! excellent explanation!

[christinelim]

Formulate Strategy is also referring to Intended Strategy right?

[snehayerrigadoo]

Thank you! very useful explanation.
However I have a question.
For example if a company did not have in its vision to offer a certain service to its customers but the service was launched as a results of considerable demand from the local business community. Can this be considered as an emergent strategy?

Thank you!!!

[BrianSokhulu]

Wow. Thats interesting. At some point the thinking has to end? Why? Because the organisation has gone past it's emerging stage?

I look at this from the perspective of acceleration and compare that stage as the cruise mode. When the car reaches cruise mode the acceleration is zero. Constant velocity.

But in this day and age, it is increasingly becoming difficult to maintain a constant velocity for a long time. So the thinking can't stop. That back and forth iteration of strategies can't stop. It has to be a continuous conversation between senior management and operational management.

The acceleration does not have to change in magnitude in order to change. If the velocity changes direction, then the acceleration also changes because they are vectors. And in this day and age that happens a lot more frequently as the organisation emerges, and continues happening constantly when the organisation has reached its coasting phase.

[BrianSokhulu]

Wow. At some point the thinking has to stop? Why? Is it like when a car reaches cruise mode?

Well I can argue that cruise mode is when the acceleration is zero. And that means constant velocity. But we know that acceleration doesn't have to change in magnitude in order to change. A change in direction of the constant velocity can be regarded as a change in acceleration. And in this interconnected world we live in today, a constant velocity is becoming more and more difficult to maintain, so in other words, the thinking can't stop.

Perhaps then letting machines to do the thinking is what will allow us humans to stop thinking. But not to say that the thinking has stopped, because the machines are still doing it. So this back and forth communication between senior management and operational management can't stop. Can't be one way always. It has to be a conversation. A more frequent and constant one.

Bringing it down to the employee level means you have to have trust in them. They have to be learners themselves, so that they can apply this iterative process in a way that will serve the core values of the organisation. That's how control is lost, because now you have to learn how your employees think and improve your organisation, having given them the freedom to implement new strategies.