Strategic Execution for Today's Executives

Comments by Dave Mathisen, The Virnoche-Frigon Group, a Merrill Lynch Company david_mathisen@ml.com

Inability to perceive the real threat –
An unwillingness to change the plan to adapt to new developments –
Inexplicable failure by those at a critical point to take action without being told to do so –

Do these descriptions characterize any organizations you have been a part of? What would you do if they did?

The Army’s National Training Center, in the deserts of Southern California (only a few miles from Death Valley), is home to some of the most severe and honest critics of tactics and unit performance in the world. Sunburned and leathery from spending countless days and nights in open hmmwv’s bouncing across the desert floor and the arid ridges observing battalion after battalion confronting an experienced enemy in intense force-on-force exercises, these “observer-controllers” have names like “Scorpion Team,” “Tarantulas,” and “Sidewinder Zero-Seven.” They compile “trends” describing negative patterns that they see over and over again, so that tactical commanders can benefit from a long-term perspective and address known issues that are critical to success in the fluid and hostile environment of the battlefield. One of the trends they identified and began outlining in the early 1990s included the shortcomings at the top of this page. If those sound at all familiar to you, then you may appreciate the paradigm that tactical commanders use in the fluid environment of combat and training for combat.

The parallels between the challenges the Army trains for and the challenges a business faces are striking: both require individuals and groups to navigate rapidly changing environments, making decisions with imperfect information, for extremely high stakes. Some of the systems and techniques that evolved over several years out of the intense pressure of the Army’s most realistic training may have applications that go far beyond the barren deserts of California.

One of the paradigms I learned in the military that I think has an incredible amount of utility not only in tactics but also in business in Silicon Valley and beyond is the concept of “Situational Awareness” – having a true picture of the situation (your own unit, the terrain, and the enemy). The concept itself is not a new one, but the ability to have it is so rare that those who develop it to a high degree are often described as having an extra sense (such as Napoleon’s “coup d’oeil” – the “strike of the eye” – or Rommel’s “fingerspitzengefuhl” – “fingertip-feel” for the battlefield). What systems of techniques exist to heighten this ability in ourselves, those we lead in business, and in companies themselves?

Applications of the battlefield concept of Situational Awareness to the business world are virtually unlimited. For example, a company might perceive its major competition to be coming from one source, and be completely surprised by competition that comes from an entirely different technology. Agreement on the true situation is rare: within any group or organization (or market), there will be individuals who believe the situation to be completely the opposite from one another.

· The Department of Justice, for example, might argue that a potential merger between two telecom players could create a monopoly situation, when in fact technology has created alternative business models that threaten the very existence of both of the merging players.
· At $80 per share, some informed market participants will argue that the price of Technology Company X is a terrific bargain, because the company will probably grow earnings by at least 35% per year for the next three years, while other observers will argue that $80 is the best time to get out of the stock, because the real future growth is probably going to slow to 10%, and is further threatened by some political factor that makes the true situation even more hazardous to the company’s business model.
· If you are leading a sales team, your correct vision of the true situation regarding the power structure at a new customer company could lead to success, if you have correctly perceived the situation and taken appropriate action, while failing to perceive the correct situation could result in an unexpected disaster.

On Thursday July 27 from 11:30 a.m. - 2:00 p.m., Dave Mathisen will be facilitating a conversation on 'Strategic Execution for Today's Executives' incorporating concepts about situational awareness developed through his extensive training in the army. To register, visit
http://www.acteva.com/booking.cfm?bevaid=104181.

For more information, visit http://www.FountainBlue.biz.