Opinions sought: In his recently published book Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, The Difference and Why it Matters (Random House) Richard Rumelt laments “there is more and more talk about organisations having strategies, but much of the actual content of real-world strategies is meaningless fluff, statements of wished-for goals and outcomes, and fill-in-the-blanks on vision/ mission/strategy templates”.
Intrigued by Rumelt’s observation the SMI reviewed the published strategies of two of Australia’s major retailing companies to use as a basis for discussion. An adaptation of these are summarised as follows:
| Company 1: Strategic plan key elements | Company 2: Strategic plan key elements |
| New stores growth and refurbishments | Competitive prices |
| Grow our exclusive brands | Strong brand |
| Build and strengthen loyalty program | Stores well-located to target customer |
| Ensure product mix and floor selling space delivers optimal financial returns | Superior overall shopping experience |
| Improve customer service | Greater overall customer satisfaction |
| Deliver a flexible omni-channel offer | High customer loyalty and superior service |
| Continue to reduce shrinkage | Distinctive store ambience |
| Best range of national and international brands |
In our upcoming Breakfast Briefings (Melbourne: 21st February 2012, Sydney: 22nd March 2012 – you are invited) we will be presenting and discussing good strategy, bad strategy and are seeking your views as input to that discussion on what you think good strategy, bad strategy is; as well as any experiences or examples you may have that serve to illustrate your views.
You may wish to comment on the above two strategies above; are they good or bad?
For the record, good strategy according to Rumelt “has an essential logical structure. Most importantly, it provides a clear statement of the nature of the challenge. Secondly, it offers a guiding policy for overcoming the challenge. Thirdly, it coordinates actions and resources on key points of leverage”.
I am sure you have experiences in this area. We look forward to hearing from you.