Strategic Alignment

This article is part of our Mentor-Coach Reading List series. Join the mailing list to receive this and more.

The best-aligned enterprises are the best performing.

Strategic alignment - of internal and external factors - is critical for all aspects of a company, including its people, processes and goals, to be synchronised and working towards a common purpose and moving in the same direction. Alignment is systemic and iterative requiring continuous evaluation, adjustment and communication.

A clear and well-articulated strategy, combined with an aligned culture, will enable people to make decisions and take actions that support the organisation's goals. Financial decisions, such as investments, capital structure and dividend policies, should be aligned with the company's strategic objectives to optimise value creation. Importantly, an external lens focuses on aligning the organisation with its environment and stakeholders such as customers, competitors, communities and industry trends.

By aligning leaders and teams, considering the organisation's lifecycle, promoting an aligned culture, and aligning financial and stakeholder decisions, C-suite executives and boards can ensure that all aspects of the company work in-sync towards the achievement of strategic goals.

Happy reading and stay curious!

Here’s more information about the selection of books.

Align: A Leadership Blueprint for Aligning Enterprise Purpose, Strategy and Organisation by Jonathan Trevor. Why do some businesses thrive, while many more struggle and fail? A key reason and the focus of this book is strategic alignment. This is the careful arrangement of the various elements of an enterprise from its business strategy to its organisation to best support the fulfillment of its long-term purpose. The best-aligned enterprises are the best performing. ‘Align’ provides a blueprint for how strategic alignment can be effectively developed, implemented and sustained. Drawing upon active research at the University of Oxford's Said Business School (with contributions from the joint works of Dr Jonathan Trevor and Dr Barry Varcoe), there are practical case studies and evidence-based insights culminating in a thoughtful and compelling message to help leaders everywhere to improve their alignment and enterprise performance.

The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking: Leading Your Organization Into the Future by Michael D. Watkins. What is strategic thinking exactly? Are we born with it, or can we nurture it? As a distinct and important capability in leaders, strategic thinking is a remarkably poorly defined, little understood concept, confined to management courses and board meetings. But in The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking, world-renowned expert Michael Watkins shows leaders how they can benefit from it, as long as they have the tools to nurture it. Exploring the six specific mental disciplines that together constitute strategic thinking, each chapter shows how they can create value, and offers prescriptions on how to develop the strategic thinking mindset ourselves. Academically grounded but jargon-free, with real-world examples from all sectors and ages, ‘The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking’ assesses our innate ability to think strategically, and helps us to cultivate it, leading to better decisions that get proven results.

Rethinking Competitive Advantage: New Rules for the Digital Age by Ram Charan with Geri Willigan. How do companies build a competitive advantage in the digital age? In this lively, accessible guide, Ram Charan reveals that the tech giants have radically rewritten the rules of business. If you want to win, you need to learn to play a new game. Delving into the inner workings of the likes of Netflix, Amazon and Alibaba, Charan uncovers the six rules that the digital giants use to stay ahead: from their emphasis on creating corporate 'ecosystems', to the way they approach team organisation and money making.

Corporate Lifecycles by Ichak Adizes. Corporations, like living organisms, experience predictable patterns of behavior as they grow and develop. And, like living organisms, they are faced with specific problems as they progress through the various stages of their lifestyle. According to Dr. Ichak Adizes, the success or failure of any organisation depends on its ability to meet the challenges presented by this growth, and make healthy transitions from one stage of development to the next. He shows you step-by-step how to assess your organisation's strengths and weaknesses and how to determine where your company is located on the lifecycle curve. He offers tested strategies which can be used to change the organisational climate and remove obstacles that prevent growth. Adizes also provides innovative forecasting methods that will help you predict what corporate problems lie ahead and specific preventative measures you can take to avoid them.

Venture Meets Mission: Aligning People, Purpose, and Profit to Innovate and Transform Society by Arun Gupta, Gerard George and Thomas J. Fewer. Argues that if Business, Government, and Society come together, rebuild trust, and collaborate, we have a generational opportunity to address societal challenges-climate change, cybersecurity, disease outbreaks, food insecurity and education. The book explains, with hope and passion, how our existing entrepreneurial ecosystem, with the ideals of democracy, can be the foundation for a new mission-driven capitalism. The good news is the components of this problem-solving ecosystem already exist. The authors explain what is required to join people, purpose, and profit together for world-changing impact-starting with rebuilding trust among Business, Government, and Society.

Value Creation for Owners and Directors: A Practical Guide on How to Lead Your Business by Massimo Massa, Kaikhushru (“Kai”) Taraporevala and Ludo Van der Heyden. This book deals with a much understudied and poorly understood aspect of business: the role of owners and boards in value creation. While there is abundant guidance on value creation for publicly listed firms and their managers, the role played by owners, and their corporate directors, in value creation and governance has been overlooked. The first part deals with the mission, and the values and rules pertaining to the governance of the business. The second part addresses the relational elements that owners must master to effectively manage the social and emotional dynamics in their enterprise. Thirdly, the book explores the histories, defining experiences, and talents that define owners and shape their enterprise.

FURTHER IDEAS AND LEARNING

EVERY EXECUTIVE NEEDS A TRUSTED SOUNDING BOARD Most executives understand that the higher they are, the more difficult it is to talk about their real issues or concerns – and to do so free from the weight of company expectations. It is even harder to find effective and neutral listeners. Whether the objective is to be more effective in a role, to assess next-level strategies or contribute to a board, it helps to have trusted guidance.

LEADER AS STRATEGIST Mentor-Coach Conversation: there are different facets to strategy that the leader needs to consider.

VISUALISATION TO ACTUALISATION Mentor-Coach Conversation: whether it is an enterprise-wide strategy, a transformation plan or a key piece of work, moving from visualisation to actualisation takes a specific execution skill set, an investment in mission-critical talent, the right resource allocation, hyper focus and discipline. Certain operating styles create differentiation and impact.

Digital and AI Epoch Mentor-Coach Reading List: certain questions need to be explored and resolved about AI and digital. How do you (out)compete? Will we use AI to improve the way we work and live, or will we allow it to alienate us? Where is the strategic and transformation value? Does human progress depend on choices we make about technology? What is a digital mindset and what does it take to thrive?

Strategy and Future Choices Mentor-Coach Reading List: what is strategy and why is it so difficult? This reading series will help answer these questions. Strategies are fundamentally about choice, difference and advantage. It is as much about deciding what not to do and being alert to signals or noise, as it is about what will be done. It incorporates a systems perspective, it is intent-focused, level shifting, opportunistic and timely.