Corporate Strategy Office: Why An Organisation Cannot Do ...

The principal role of the Corporate Strategy Office (CSO) is to provide rigorously evaluated strategic advice the Board, CEO, business units ... Lastyear,theCEOofamediumsizedcompanyapproachedmetoadvisehimonwhethertoenteranewmarketsegment.Ienquiredwhyhedidnotaskoneofhisseniormanagerstofindtheanswer.HesaidthathewouldhavetoseektheopinionoftheBusinessHeadorChiefofMarketing.They,hefeared,wouldsayYES.Hisobservationwasastute.Herecognizedtheirinterestinabiggerjobmightpredisposetheminfavourofenteringtheprospectivesegment.RoleoftheCSOCEOsoftenseekoutconsultantsforindependent,insightfulandexpertadvice.Whilethatneedmaynotgoaway,itispossibleforcompaniestoresolvemanyquestionsofstrategyontheirown,reliably. TheprincipalroleoftheCorporateStrategyOffice(CSO)istoproviderigorouslyevaluatedstrategicadvicetheBoard,CEO,businessunits(BUs),andfunctions.TheyshouldreportdirectlytotheCEO.Oneoftheirmostimportantresponsibilitiesistoperiodicallydeterminehowwellthefirm’sstrategyisworking.Isthefirmisservingthecustomers(segments)theyarebestequippedfor?Aretheydeliveringsuperiorvalue?Isthebusinesscapturingsufficientvalueintheprocess?Theseandsimilarquestionsconstitutestrategyaudit.TheroleofCSOextendsfurther.Theyshouldmonitorchangesintheenvironment,markets,andbehaviourofcustomers.Acuteobservationscanalertthefirmtoopportunitiesandthreats.Earlysignsofchangeareusuallyvisibleattheperipheryoftheorganization,ininteractionswithsuppliers,serviceproviders,andcustomers. TheCSOcanhelpsenioroperatingmanagersinstituteformalandinformalwaysofsensing.Inabilitytoadapthasdestroyedmanyacompany. TheCSO’struevalueliesininfluencing,andenablingbusinessandfunctionleaderstosucceed.Theirjobiscomplexanddifficult.Itrequiresaninquisitiveorientationandconsiderableexpertise.ThatmayexplainwhysofewcompanieshavetheCorporateStrategyOffice.Butitdoesnotdiminishtheircriticalcontributiontochartingthefirm'sdestiny. 20 7Comments Like Comment Share JosephVarghese HiSir, Whatyousaidiscorrect.wearemostlyblindedbyownsuccess(beitpersonalorcorporate)orneverbotherstosharpenthe'Axe'..becztherehasnotbeenanyindependentrigorousevaluation.. AsofmissingthebusitcouldberecalledofourownyesteryearsAsiangiant-IdealJawa.. Rony(ex-SHRIL) Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 7y Reportthiscomment PrakashChittaranjan Makessense.HoweverthequestionisofTRUSTandabilitytoLOOKfrombothOUTSIDEandINSIDE.ThatmaybeRARE!! Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 1Like 7y Reportthiscomment ChetanDesai Gladsomeoneinthinkingaboutit....Beinginthestrategyroleforalongtime,Icansaythatmanycompaniesshyawayfromembracingchangeandinnovationattheratewhichisrequired.Theyoftenfailtocreateacompetitiveadvantageforthefirmandcreatenewrevenuessteamstoaggressivelyscaleexistingbusiness.Astheysay,Strategystartsdecayingthedayitiscreated.Hencespeedofexecutioniscritical.IdeallyCSOshouldbetheguidingforcetosteerthecompanyintherightdirectionandcreatetheblueprintforexecutiontocreatenewergrowthenginesthatcanpropelthecompanyintoahighvelocityorbit.Veryfewfirmshavetheabilitytodothis. Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 2Likes 7y Reportthiscomment V.N.Bhattacharya Excellentobservations,Chetan. Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 7y Reportthiscomment LinkedInUser Strategiesquiteoften,Ihaveseenbeingseenwithfearbecausestillthereisacultureoffearforchange.AfamouselectronictypewritercompanycalledNetworkandtheircompetitorGodrejfailedtorecognizethechangetowardsPersonalComputersandagainmanyPCmanufacturerscouldnotsucceedinLaptopandotherhardwareareas.InterestinglyHPisasuccessinPCsegmentbutDellclearlyovertookmanyPCmanufacturersinLaptopsegment.NotsurewhyaCEOsuccessfulinoneproductlinedoesnotreadthemarketordosomebackgroundstudyonhisowntogetthepulseanddevisearightBANGTHEORYtypeofmarketpenetration.Fearoffirststepcanbethelaststeptotheorganization. Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 7y Reportthiscomment DIBYASANKHACHATTERJEE Ifullyagreewiththis.CSOisveryimportantforanyorganisationtosurviveandgrow. Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 7y Reportthiscomment SanjeevAhuja Cantagreemore TheroleofCSO'sisallacrosstheindutry,sizebeingirrelevantasCEOwouldalwaysneedoptions,realitycheck,feedback,someoneplayingdevilsadvocateandfinallytellingonhisfacetheconstraintstheorganizationface(s) Sohightimeweseethisoftenseeminglyabstractservice/functiongettingmorevisibility Like Signintolikethiscomment Reply Signintoreplytothiscomment 7y Reportthiscomment Seemorecomments Tovieworaddacomment,signin Tovieworaddacomment,signin AQoL25Aug21|PART2-WillRenumakeagoodorbadcareerchoice? Aug26,2021 AQoLAug21|WillRenumakeagoodorbadcareerchoice? Aug4,2021 AQoLJun21|“Sorry,ItIsNotMyJob”.HindustanLever'sobjective,yetcompassionateculture. Jul2,2021 AQoLMay21|Part2.OnStrategicThinking,BehavioralEconomics,GameTheoryandmore.MyconversationwithVinayDabholkar. 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