At this very moment your organization is being propelled in some direction by a force put in place through years of decisions made on everything from how you allocate your financial resources to who you hire to how you employ technology.
What propels you forward represents, in many ways, your corporate identity, in other words if people were to say, “They are a ____ company” the blank in the sentence will often describe what propels you forward.
1.Products and services: Companies propelled by products and services may sell to many different customer groups, using a variety of channels, but their focus is on a core product or service.
2.Customers and markets: Johnson and Johnson is a good example of a company propelled by customers and markets. They offer a wide variety of products, but all have one thing in common: they’re aimed at the needs of the company’s core market: doctors, nurses, patients, and mothers.
3.Capacity or capabilities: Airlines are capacity driven, focusing on selling every available seat. Hotels are similarly focused on capacity, with a concentration on filling available rooms. Organizations propelled forward by capabilities possess expert skills in certain areas and will apply that toolkit of skills to any possible product or market.
4.Technology: In the book “Roadmaps and Revelations”, Sydney discusses DuPont, who discovered nylon in the 1930s. They went on to apply the technology to a varied range of offerings including fishing line, stockings, and carpet. Their proprietary knowledge of nylon allowed them to venture into a number of markets.
5.Sales and distribution channels: Where can you buy an MP3 player one minute, and a grill the next? TV shopping networks, that’s where. They’re a good example of organizations propelled by sales and distribution channels. For them, the key word is not “what” or “who,” but “how,” as in how they deliver the product to the customer.
6.Raw materials: Think of an oil company here. Everything they ultimately sell is derived from that raw material pumped from the ground.
Some may view the six areas above and claim they can, and must, do all in order to succeed in our hyper-competitive marketplace. I suppose in theory that’s possible, but it will prove exceedingly difficult to go beyond simply skimming the surface of what each area has to offer if you attempt to pursue all six at the same time.
Doing so will inevitably lead to confusion from an already skeptical employee audience, wondering which path to choose when presented with alternative opportunities. Ultimately, a focus on all is a focus on none leading to sub-optimal results. In order to truly capitalize on this principle you must commit to one driving force for your organization and align your resources, human and financial, around that decision. Determine what propels you forward, and focus on optimizing it.
Please click here to move to the next Roadmap Strategy question.
