There are many reasons why Indonesia companies do not have a well-defined and practical strategy formulation and implementation process in place. One is that there is no well established system of management development and training in the strategic thinking dimension in Indonesia companies (and, with the exception of a few business schools, elsewhere). Many executives who reach board status are asked to contribute to the formulation of strategy but having been promoted for operational o\r functional excellence they find their new role surprisingly difficult and their new clothes most uncomfortable. Many executives who have had some training have, in the main, been exposed to the case study method, not a repeatable process in real life. It teaches criticizing, questioning and analytic skills, but that is all.
Similarly, the majority of consulting firms, especially the strategy boutiques, provide content knowledge and expertise, but when they report to their clients they keep their method a closely guarded secret. The client, not knowing how conclusions and recommendations have been arrived at, is unable to test and verify their validity. There is rarely technology transfer between consulting firm and customer. Consequently, monitoring, reviewing, updating and reformulating strategy is done poorly or not at all.
Against this background, the idea of installing a strategic process and institutionalizing it inside an Indonesia organization is at the heart of the work we perform on behalf of clients. Kepner-Tregoe believes that a consulting organization should intervene to provide a set of management processes which are married to the content knowledge and expertise of the client - thus allowing the consultant to facilitate the raising and resolution of issues by the client themselves. It is like the old Chinese proverb, which says that 'rather than give a man a fish and feed him for a day it is better to teach him to fish so that he may eat for the rest of his life. This approach allows management itself to own the strategy that has been formulated and to provide the necessary degree of commitment to implement it. This often does not happen when an outside agency presents a report to management about what it thinks management should do. Many such strategy reports merely gather dust, however neatly bound and articulated.
Strategy is a much used and abused word. A clear definition of its meaning is very helpful. For 15 years the following definition has served us with many of the world's leading Indonesia companies: strategy is the framework within which the choices about the future nature and direction of an organization can be made. The framework gives the boundaries and parameters beyond which an organization will not go. The choices that have to be made are fundamentally three:
1. What products / services should, and should not, be offered.
2. What markets (geographies, customers and end users) should, and should not, be served.
3. What resources and capabilities are required to take products to market.
Many Indonesia organizations talk in terms of manufacturing, pricing, research, advertising strategy. We think this an abuse of the word - the actions surrounding these functional responses are very much operational how toss designed to impellent the overall strategy of an Indonesia organization.
Included in the strategy profile which is the main output of the formulation process are a number of key subjects that are addressed as follows: a strategic time perspective; a set of basic beliefs; the market scope, mix and emphasis (geography, customer to whom product / service is sold, end user / customer); key capabilities and resources required to take products to markets, size / growth guidelines, return / profit guidelines, bridges to implementation identifies, action plans, roles, responsibilities, measures and monitoring processes established.
Similarly, the majority of consulting firms, especially the strategy boutiques, provide content knowledge and expertise, but when they report to their clients they keep their method a closely guarded secret. The client, not knowing how conclusions and recommendations have been arrived at, is unable to test and verify their validity. There is rarely technology transfer between consulting firm and customer. Consequently, monitoring, reviewing, updating and reformulating strategy is done poorly or not at all.
Against this background, the idea of installing a strategic process and institutionalizing it inside an Indonesia organization is at the heart of the work we perform on behalf of clients. Kepner-Tregoe believes that a consulting organization should intervene to provide a set of management processes which are married to the content knowledge and expertise of the client - thus allowing the consultant to facilitate the raising and resolution of issues by the client themselves. It is like the old Chinese proverb, which says that 'rather than give a man a fish and feed him for a day it is better to teach him to fish so that he may eat for the rest of his life. This approach allows management itself to own the strategy that has been formulated and to provide the necessary degree of commitment to implement it. This often does not happen when an outside agency presents a report to management about what it thinks management should do. Many such strategy reports merely gather dust, however neatly bound and articulated.
Strategy is a much used and abused word. A clear definition of its meaning is very helpful. For 15 years the following definition has served us with many of the world's leading Indonesia companies: strategy is the framework within which the choices about the future nature and direction of an organization can be made. The framework gives the boundaries and parameters beyond which an organization will not go. The choices that have to be made are fundamentally three:
1. What products / services should, and should not, be offered.
2. What markets (geographies, customers and end users) should, and should not, be served.
3. What resources and capabilities are required to take products to market.
Many Indonesia organizations talk in terms of manufacturing, pricing, research, advertising strategy. We think this an abuse of the word - the actions surrounding these functional responses are very much operational how toss designed to impellent the overall strategy of an Indonesia organization.
Included in the strategy profile which is the main output of the formulation process are a number of key subjects that are addressed as follows: a strategic time perspective; a set of basic beliefs; the market scope, mix and emphasis (geography, customer to whom product / service is sold, end user / customer); key capabilities and resources required to take products to markets, size / growth guidelines, return / profit guidelines, bridges to implementation identifies, action plans, roles, responsibilities, measures and monitoring processes established.
