Editorial
One of my first assignments in consulting was on a quality crisis in baby food. I remember the conversation I had at the time with the partner in charge of the project about the difference between working on strategic topics and working on actual strategy. Indeed the word, “strategy” is used so extensively in business that we tend to lose sight of what business strategy is really about. Strategy is about making choices and allocating resources to achieve an objective.
Winning strategies always take megatrends into account to anticipate the future. Then, depending on the size of your company you may either go to create a corporate level strategy to design the best portfolio of businesses or jump to the business level strategy where most of us will find ourselves in more familiar territory. Then comes the time of execution where the battles are lost or won in fine.
In this issue of This Week in Consulting, we explore some mega trends applicable to most businesses, we look at how the net-zero objective is influencing corporate strategies, and we go back to the basics of solid strategic planning before exploring the notions of open strategy and business ecosystems.
Enjoy the read. Feel free to comment. Would love to hear your views.
Laurent THOMAS
Chairman Consulting Quest
This week’s must read
In This Week’s Must Read is a valuable global resource from Roland Berger –the Trend Compendium comprising 6 megatrends shaping the world between now and 2050.
Keeping up with new trends in your industry is critical for your business strategy as an understanding of the top trends would help you and your clients develop sustainable solutions for challenges and opportunities ahead. To enable companies to identify the trends that matter now and how they would shape the future, the Roland Berger Institute (RBI) has compiled a new edition of the Roland Berger Trend Compendium, which comprises six megatrends shaping the world between now and 2050. Take a look at this valuable global resource in This Week In Consulting.
This week’s media
If you are looking to implement your strategic plan this year, what are some of the fundamental points you should look for? This video breaks down four components of successful strategy implementation in 2022 and shares top tips for translating these ideas into action. Watch it out.
Thought Leadership
It’s generally believed that companies that operate through business ecosystems are better positioned to drive innovation and capital efficiency to create customer value. No wonder, since 2015, more than 300 ecosystem startups have reached unicorn status and more than half of the S&P Global 100 companies are already engaged in one or more ecosystems. While most companies are interested in expanding their penetration in one or more ecosystems, according to research and surveys, many of them are still unsure how to define their ecosystem strategies. This article aims to help them in that pursuit.
The corporate sector is under pressure to take decisive action and develop viable road maps to achieve net-zero emissions within target time frames. The focus should be on minimizing the amount of residual emissions in any portfolio and maximizing the economic value created for every unit of residual emissions eliminated. But how to perform a diagnosis of the current portfolio, or assess businesses and supporting business models? How can they frame or develop the portfolio’s strategic alternatives, while developing a roadmap and planning its implementation? Read here.
Investors, across sectors, are identifying the ESG (environment, social, governance) metrics as critical parts of their business strategies and growth plans. This shift in the risk and growth analysis philosophy has contributed to the renewed interest in the Blue Economy, which, offers exciting market opportunities in a time of growing emphasis on ESG factors and sustainability goals. This insightful article closely examines the contributions of ocean-oriented activities to the US economy and how the challenges faced by this industry can be turned into opportunities.
Organizations today leverage the power of crowds in various ways — from engaging them in brand communications to including them in the innovation process. However, the inclusion of crowds in the strategy process has not quite taken off yet. Nevertheless, by including a wider range of participants in strategy development, companies can benefit immensely from collective intelligence because under certain conditions, large groups can be more effective at problem-solving than individual experts. What are the various ways to make their strategies more inclusive? What risks are involved? This article takes a look at these and more.
This week’s consulting news selection
Coral reefs are among the planet’s most precious natural resourcesb but they are endangered. Accenture is collaborating with technology and industry partners and a coral conservation foundation in El Nido, Philippines in Project: CORaiL. The initiative is aimed at developing an AI-powered solution for restoring the reefs.|
Leading independent consulting business, Project One announced the appointment of its new CEO, James O’Sullivan. A consulting industry veteran, James steered several large-scale changes and transformations. Since 2014, he has been a key member of their Board and Senior Leadership Team of Project One.|
FTI Consulting recently appointed its Senior Managing Director Jackie Yu and Managing Director Lilian Sin to the firm’s Financial Crime Compliance practice within the Forensic and Litigation Consulting segment. Mr Yu will help the firm to expand its footprint and grow the business in the country. Ms. Sin will assist in this effort. Details of the deals are here. |
The leading management, technology, and compliance consulting firm, Attain Partners, recently welcomed Ms. Ellen Walsh to its circle of partners. Ms. Walsh has been instrumental to the company’s growth since its founding and has played a critical role in the company’s growth, impact, and history.|
Laurent is the Chairman and Co-founder of Consulting Quest. Focused on greater value creation, and being thoroughly familiar with Consulting, Laurent has sourced and sold millions of dollars worth of Consulting over the course of his career. Prior to joining Consulting Quest, Laurent was Executive Vice President Oil and Gas at Solvay and Senior Partner Transformation at Oliver Wyman.
