How to overcome complex strategy

 

All too often, companies will find themselves struggling to overcome their own internal processes, especially when it comes to corporate strategy. Many times, senior managers will choose to simply lay another initiative or set of processes over the top of their existing business plan, rather than really trying to understand the issues their business is facing.

The result is company strategies that are almost impossible to implement, as the sheer complexity of existing rules and organisational structures begin to impact on company performance.

In fact, a study from Strategy& demonstrated that companies are increasingly finding themselves struggling to overcome their own processes. The study cited figures which found 90 per cent of companies report their ongoing costs are increasing as a result of complex business arrangements.

So how can companies address the increasingly complex operations they are experiencing?

The Strategy& study suggested that companies need to get find the right organisational structures to handle the complexity of their operations. Rather than trying to radically simplify a business’s operations, the report suggested focussing on innovative solutions that can align business strategies with the overall vision of a company.

One way to achieve this is to implement strategy management software that can make it easy to align processes from different branches of a company. This technology also makes it much easier for company executives to make future decisions that cut through organisational complexity and realise the business’s goals.

The result of harnessing the complexity of an organisation can have significant impact on a company’s performance. The Strategy& study reported that consumer product companies who made decisions based on a rigorous and structured process realised a 40 per cent growth in sales volumes.

By finding ways to cut through the complexity of a large organisation, companies can achieve much more coherent approach to decision making, with subsequent benefits for every branch of their operations.