That was the question the newly-appointed CEO of a specialty chemical producer was asking herself.
A few months into her tenure as CEO, she encountered challenges with unexpected and rapid market shifts. The company's traditional strategic approach relying on refreshed financial models was inadequate for the evolving market dynamics. With too much to address at once, she enlisted Growth Arc Advisors' support to allow her to fully assess the business and her team.
The Dilemma
Upon assuming her role as CEO just a few months prior, the leader found herself at the head of a struggling specialty chemical producer experiencing significant market shifts. Compounded by the challenge of a largely new leadership team, selected before she took the helm, she faced the daunting task of devising a strategic plan under unfamiliar and evolving circumstances. Traditionally, the company relied on refreshing financial models to steer strategic direction, but this approach would likely prove inadequate given the rapidly changing market dynamics.
Understanding that a comprehensive grasp of the business was imperative, she recognized the need for a fresh planning methodology. However, undertaking this responsibility herself would deprive her of the necessary bandwidth to fully assess the business and her team. She turned to Growth Arc for support.
The Process
Growth Arc's support began with an understanding of the company's new strategic context. By interviewing the CEO and her leadership team, our team delineated the key issues underpinning the business landscape. Armed with these objectives, we constructed a bespoke framework for the CEO that empowered teams to address key strategic questions.
The framework facilitated the teams to delve into several critical analyses:
- New Trends: teams articulated how emerging trends were reshaping the business's strategic position, thereby unveiling opportunities and threats.
- Key Issues: They identified vital issues, including capacity balance, cost position, and geopolitical shifts, which required vigilant monitoring.
- Segment Evaluation: A thorough review of each segment revealed competitive dynamics, product offerings, and evolving needs and trends, enabling a holistic view of the business.
By utilizing a well-designed analysis framework, the CEO was liberated from the minutiae of the facilitation process. This allowed her to concentrate on engaging in substantive discussions with her team, ensuring quality insights and robust strategic decision-making.
The Blind Spot
Strategic planning processes are fraught with pitfalls. Often, these exercises fall into a cycle of “refreshes,” bypassing genuine strategic inquiry. Regularity in approach can lead to stagnation, where compressed timelines and inexperienced resources undermine the potential for meaningful insight. The crux of effective strategic planning lies in up-front design—a critical aspect often neglected. Each strategic exercise is unique, necessitating clarity on the questions that should guide team activities and focus.
Solutions and Strategic Actions
Armed with a comprehensive assessment, the CEO quickly discerned the pathways for strategic action:
Resource Allocation: She identified critical segments as strongholds, reallocating resources to maintain and expand company market positions.
Effort Optimization: Initiatives with limited potential were deprioritized, allowing for more effective concentration of efforts.
Initiative Timing: Clarity on the timing for key initiatives enabled the reinforcement of mission-critical timelines and in some cases their acceleration.
Leadership and Organizational Assessment: The strategic review also highlighted leadership and organizational needs, prompting staffing adjustments to bolster the company's operational core.
Outcomes and Gains
The CEO emerged from this strategic exercise with insights and actionable intelligence. By harnessing Growth Arc's expertise, she gained invaluable time to engage her leadership team to understanding the situation and explore options, thereby ensuring a thorough consideration of the alternatives. Equipped with certainty in her decisions, she accelerated her choices, translating analysis into swift and effective action.
The CEO was able to navigate her immediate strategic dilemma and also lay the groundwork for sustained company leadership in this volatile sector, even as the long-term results continue to unfold.
