Chief Strategy Officer
Brian Siegel
Capstone, Daewoo
HBR, The Chief Strategy Officer
CsynergyO
We’re all (more than) Acronyms, we’re all CSO’s
Top down, bottom up, B2B, C2B, VP, IT, MGR, CEO, CFO, OPS, QMI, etc. We all have heard these acronyms, and the trends towards “strategic innovation”. No matter our title, it is what we bring to the position we are responsible for. All members of all teams should have commitment to growth, ethical decision making, drive for change, leadership, multitask, and commitment to your company. To have a “go to person” available at the top of the food chain to address your ideas for growth helps filter innovation in a better manner. All too often we get bogged down with paperwork and propaganda that we lose focus on why we’re really at a job. To build, grow, process, improve, enhance, execute, and also have fun! Having transparency in your organization and allowing participation allows for team members to have a voice. I picture an “outline with wiggle room” so teams can operate with flexibility, yet answer to the core questions and goals if the CEO were to ask how one of their reports were approaching and addressing a decision. CSO “Chief Strategy Officers” or “Chief Synergy Officers” incorporate all the different departments with the higher level thinking and allows for a niche to harness the ideas and innovation it takes to stay successfully competitive.
Attitude, approach, and executing entail action. Without action, these strategies are mere “corporate propaganda”. It is as if your company is a ship, has a captain, this new “co captain” called the “CSO”, and they need to lead their teams in a synchronized “rowing” direction. Whether it’s internal or external focus, innovation must be derived from consumers as wells as employees who have the skills, vision, and experiences to add meaningful improvements. A commitment to seeing the bigger picture, transparent and focused information, and drive can arise to make impact. If the “opaque politics” clutter up the communication, resist change, and cause creativity to clog. The drain must be reopened, highways and streets repairs and opened, and people heard. Connecting with your infrastructure (people), can assist in resolving diverse issues, executing strategy, and becoming a huge “think tank” of action. Most speak of being different, different products, strategies, but what does it mean to be truly different? Outlining a focused agenda to be “different” and “innovative”, takes not only leadership to back it fully, but to have a sound implementation that your team members believe in. Rebuilding your architecture, ideas, and focus takes a huge investment of time, funds, and energy. If companies want to reposition their focus, they must mass connect with accuracy. People can reposition you faster than ideas, but people need to believe in the core ideals. If you can connect with your team in a speedy manner, stay true to your core, and extract key initiatives without compromising the integrity of your architecture design and strengths.
Companies all seek “fast growth”, profit building, ability to adapt to change, and teams excited about the company. How does a company achieve this? Having a CSO allows for the doors and channels to open and direct the energy for change, innovation, and growth to a leader responsible for this. In a way, we are all CSO’s, just not on the “title” or “band” level. We are responsible for generating growth, collaboration, focus on goals, revenue, etc. Revitalizing and refreshing your approach with the company objectives in mind can be tricky if you’re constantly attached to the corporate “group think”. If you have these goals “outlined”, yet with “wiggle room”, the company can maintain its’ security and stability, but push the envelop and bubble of their risk boundaries. Focusing on the “horizons” of core business, short and long term, and new business are the horizons most leaders are attentive to. With all this standard “idea, growth, strategy” speak that is discussed, how do companies execute these corporate buzzwords successfully? It takes competent leaders that know the business, interact respectfully with their team, truly listen, balance, exert influence, and make impact where critical. These ideas are influenced by people, capital, and other internal/external challenges/opportunities. Partner with your people, be aware and versed on the market, global economy, what the stakeholders demand, and developing your departments such as HR/IT.
Adding tools to one’s toolbox, and being aware of the “push and pull” of your environment can assist in improving strategy as well. Tools include open innovation channels, skilled employees, strong capable departments, and focused agendas. By push and pull I relate this to internal and external focus. Do your goals match what consumers desire, are the behaviors and actions of your team coinciding with the market demands? Understanding what your consumers want, the market “weather”, and capabilities dictate if you are going to maneuver efficiently on the “chess board”. Other “go big or go home” concepts are “getting lean”, “cutting costs”, “reorganizing”, joint ventures, alliances…Company’s must not “put more pigeons in the pigeon holes” forcefully, or they will fall to lack of team buy in or motivation. Strategists must balance not only the financial bottom lines, but also the human capital and ideas bottom line. Japanese businesses invest heavily on the bottom lines of building capacity and ideas. Most American ideas are driven, supported, or aborted due to the financial repercussions. There has to be a balance between the risk of an idea, and the future (sometimes immeasurable) affects of strategic investing decisions.
So you want to be a CSO? Do you have what it takes?
· Trusted and loyal
· Multitasking, experiences, skilled “Jack of all trades”
· Super star, not just survive but thrive with leadership in various aspects of business
· Person of action and intelligence
· Short term, long term, and creative growth visions
· Influence through relationships and collaboration, not aggressive corporate speak and dictator like action (great communicator)
· Bring calm to chaos, simplify, bring focus, embrace change and form structure in an environment with lack of info and resources
· Have focused vision and objectives
· Listen to their people
“Not just Nouns, and remember they’re VERBS”
We hear these throughout our organizations, what words are next "buzz words", do you believe in them? As MBA's, we will be "speaking the speak" even more! Here are some slogan like words I am sure we all have been over using, (maybe even under applying) lately :) Enjoy.
Not just words, but standard core ideals to live by? (If these words were dismissed from business articles, the 10 pages of content could be formulated to 1-2 key take aways?!)
· Innovation, ideas
· Growth, revenue building, cost cutting
· Strategy, focus, execution, approach
· Agile, flexible, multitasking, drive, change, proactive
· Leadership, communication, commitment, loyalty, progress
· Synergy, globalization, attitude, recognize, impact, process, efficient, productive
· Objectives, goals, vision, revitalize, brand, launch, and adjust
· Seek, opportunities, different, create, internal, external, “big picture”
· Due diligence, value, short and long term, balance, capabilities, tools
· Joint venture, alliance, partner, relationships, support, guide, develop, improve
· Listen, measure, analyze, market, voice, knowledge, critical, culture
Capstone, Daewoo
HBR, The Chief Strategy Officer
CsynergyO
We’re all (more than) Acronyms, we’re all CSO’s
Top down, bottom up, B2B, C2B, VP, IT, MGR, CEO, CFO, OPS, QMI, etc. We all have heard these acronyms, and the trends towards “strategic innovation”. No matter our title, it is what we bring to the position we are responsible for. All members of all teams should have commitment to growth, ethical decision making, drive for change, leadership, multitask, and commitment to your company. To have a “go to person” available at the top of the food chain to address your ideas for growth helps filter innovation in a better manner. All too often we get bogged down with paperwork and propaganda that we lose focus on why we’re really at a job. To build, grow, process, improve, enhance, execute, and also have fun! Having transparency in your organization and allowing participation allows for team members to have a voice. I picture an “outline with wiggle room” so teams can operate with flexibility, yet answer to the core questions and goals if the CEO were to ask how one of their reports were approaching and addressing a decision. CSO “Chief Strategy Officers” or “Chief Synergy Officers” incorporate all the different departments with the higher level thinking and allows for a niche to harness the ideas and innovation it takes to stay successfully competitive.
Attitude, approach, and executing entail action. Without action, these strategies are mere “corporate propaganda”. It is as if your company is a ship, has a captain, this new “co captain” called the “CSO”, and they need to lead their teams in a synchronized “rowing” direction. Whether it’s internal or external focus, innovation must be derived from consumers as wells as employees who have the skills, vision, and experiences to add meaningful improvements. A commitment to seeing the bigger picture, transparent and focused information, and drive can arise to make impact. If the “opaque politics” clutter up the communication, resist change, and cause creativity to clog. The drain must be reopened, highways and streets repairs and opened, and people heard. Connecting with your infrastructure (people), can assist in resolving diverse issues, executing strategy, and becoming a huge “think tank” of action. Most speak of being different, different products, strategies, but what does it mean to be truly different? Outlining a focused agenda to be “different” and “innovative”, takes not only leadership to back it fully, but to have a sound implementation that your team members believe in. Rebuilding your architecture, ideas, and focus takes a huge investment of time, funds, and energy. If companies want to reposition their focus, they must mass connect with accuracy. People can reposition you faster than ideas, but people need to believe in the core ideals. If you can connect with your team in a speedy manner, stay true to your core, and extract key initiatives without compromising the integrity of your architecture design and strengths.
Companies all seek “fast growth”, profit building, ability to adapt to change, and teams excited about the company. How does a company achieve this? Having a CSO allows for the doors and channels to open and direct the energy for change, innovation, and growth to a leader responsible for this. In a way, we are all CSO’s, just not on the “title” or “band” level. We are responsible for generating growth, collaboration, focus on goals, revenue, etc. Revitalizing and refreshing your approach with the company objectives in mind can be tricky if you’re constantly attached to the corporate “group think”. If you have these goals “outlined”, yet with “wiggle room”, the company can maintain its’ security and stability, but push the envelop and bubble of their risk boundaries. Focusing on the “horizons” of core business, short and long term, and new business are the horizons most leaders are attentive to. With all this standard “idea, growth, strategy” speak that is discussed, how do companies execute these corporate buzzwords successfully? It takes competent leaders that know the business, interact respectfully with their team, truly listen, balance, exert influence, and make impact where critical. These ideas are influenced by people, capital, and other internal/external challenges/opportunities. Partner with your people, be aware and versed on the market, global economy, what the stakeholders demand, and developing your departments such as HR/IT.
Adding tools to one’s toolbox, and being aware of the “push and pull” of your environment can assist in improving strategy as well. Tools include open innovation channels, skilled employees, strong capable departments, and focused agendas. By push and pull I relate this to internal and external focus. Do your goals match what consumers desire, are the behaviors and actions of your team coinciding with the market demands? Understanding what your consumers want, the market “weather”, and capabilities dictate if you are going to maneuver efficiently on the “chess board”. Other “go big or go home” concepts are “getting lean”, “cutting costs”, “reorganizing”, joint ventures, alliances…Company’s must not “put more pigeons in the pigeon holes” forcefully, or they will fall to lack of team buy in or motivation. Strategists must balance not only the financial bottom lines, but also the human capital and ideas bottom line. Japanese businesses invest heavily on the bottom lines of building capacity and ideas. Most American ideas are driven, supported, or aborted due to the financial repercussions. There has to be a balance between the risk of an idea, and the future (sometimes immeasurable) affects of strategic investing decisions.
So you want to be a CSO? Do you have what it takes?
· Trusted and loyal
· Multitasking, experiences, skilled “Jack of all trades”
· Super star, not just survive but thrive with leadership in various aspects of business
· Person of action and intelligence
· Short term, long term, and creative growth visions
· Influence through relationships and collaboration, not aggressive corporate speak and dictator like action (great communicator)
· Bring calm to chaos, simplify, bring focus, embrace change and form structure in an environment with lack of info and resources
· Have focused vision and objectives
· Listen to their people
“Not just Nouns, and remember they’re VERBS”
We hear these throughout our organizations, what words are next "buzz words", do you believe in them? As MBA's, we will be "speaking the speak" even more! Here are some slogan like words I am sure we all have been over using, (maybe even under applying) lately :) Enjoy.
Not just words, but standard core ideals to live by? (If these words were dismissed from business articles, the 10 pages of content could be formulated to 1-2 key take aways?!)
· Innovation, ideas
· Growth, revenue building, cost cutting
· Strategy, focus, execution, approach
· Agile, flexible, multitasking, drive, change, proactive
· Leadership, communication, commitment, loyalty, progress
· Synergy, globalization, attitude, recognize, impact, process, efficient, productive
· Objectives, goals, vision, revitalize, brand, launch, and adjust
· Seek, opportunities, different, create, internal, external, “big picture”
· Due diligence, value, short and long term, balance, capabilities, tools
· Joint venture, alliance, partner, relationships, support, guide, develop, improve
· Listen, measure, analyze, market, voice, knowledge, critical, culture
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