How do you make sure that your investment decisions are the right ones and achieve your objectives?
- By first asking the right questions and in the right order!
It is easy to get ahead of yourself, starting to look at the solution up front, deciding on what that should be addressed, by whom, already having a clear picture on how it should be done and from where, instead of first asking and understanding the main question first; the Why.
- Why are we doing this, what are our objectives and the desired business outcome that we want to achieve? What change and improvement are we expecting by pursuing this initiative?
Having answered this fundamental question first, will set the scene for all other activities and decisions that need to be taken to build up to a well formulated strategy and increasing the chances of a successful project.
Once the Why is well defined and agreed upon, the next step in the process is to answer the following questions in the specific order:
- What would need to change (services, products, processes etc.) to get us to our wanted position and desired outcome? Hence, a direct consequence of the Why. Using a matrix approach you can more easily map your processes and services in terms of level of internal competence and competitiveness and get a good understanding of what is core for your business and what is not and subsequently, which area, process or service that need to change.
- Who is best equipped to make this happen and deliver our wanted results, thus whoshould perform this task going forward? Could be both internal or external resources, or a combination of both options. Based on the What-analysis and applying the same approach in terms of level of internal competence and competitiveness, will give you guidance on Who is best equipped to perform the service or process going forward.
- How should this be done – what is the best delivery model (customized or standardized) and the right approach, based on the value it delivers and its direct impact on business objectives, i.e. in order to support the Why?
- Where is the optimal location of resources to deliver the new services – domestic or non-domestic (near-shore or (captive) off-shore) and the source of the resources (internal or external resources) used, or a combination of the above options. Again, using a matrix approach and plot out each service/process will give you a good guidance on the wanted approach.
These questions are all tightly connected and influenced by each other, thus should be answered in this specific order to ensure a solid strategy.
As a result of this exercise, you will end up with a multi-sourcing scenario with different approaches for different services and processes, thus there is no one common solution for all.
We at Checker Consultingcan take you through this process of strategy formulation in a structed step-by-step approach in a workshop format. Please contact us for further discussion and how we can assist you in your strategy formulation and making the right investment decisions.
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So, let’s follow John McEnroe’s example and try to get it right from the start:
“Answer the question. The question, Jerk!” (John McEnroe, Swedish Open, 1984)
