Ralf Hirt

Business simulation and in particular going through the most extreme scenarios is an extremely valuable exercise that is not only fun but also requires unconventional thinking and stretches imagination.

Forward-thinking management teams can take the 360 degree value-driver and best practice based CovQ Assessment (Compound Value Creator Quotient) and then analyze the results with respect to value creation capabilities and deficits as well as alignment levels. Finding out your CovQ or corporate IQ is a great way to get started.

SWOT analysis are not a state of the art approach anymore because it does not really take any best practices into account is missing implementation and deployment infrastructure for making a real impact for the value creation efforts. As a team exercise it might be okay and can be fun but that is really it.

"Many of the things you can count, don't count. Many of the things you can't count, really count." A. Einstein. Making qualitative data quantifiable is what is doing the trick. How is this done? Apply specific metrics and surveys to get the truth and impact level as close as possible.

The key question an investment decision comes down to is whether or not investors feel that their money is going to be in good hands when the rubber hits the road. If the exec team can demonstrate how strategies are developed, tracked, managed, reported, and ongoing feedback is rendered, then this is a great position to be in. If this process is instrumentalized for instance in the form of a value creation operating system being deployed, this can be a game changer in an investment decision. Most investors and boards are not happy with the board decks and information they are getting - too late, too little, always a little tweaked, and so on. Stepping up the game here differentiates from other investment opportunities investors have.

The strategy and operating model need to be intimately linked as the process is dynamic. Someone or a team must own this and be empowered. Sometimes this is handled by facilitators as they are not getting overloaded with day-to-day issues. The internal employees often do not find the time for strategy execution tasks to the extent they should and this is actually the biggest challenge. It needs a lot of discipline, leadership, and a cohesive platform to operate from. If at the end of the year, not all strategies have been completed and the question is could we have done it, the answer most often is yes. Solving this challenge sets the winners apart.