Winning The Long Game

Citation

Stephen Flynn (2015), "Winning The Long Game", Development and Learning in Organizations, Vol. 29 No. 3, pp. 33-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/DLO-04-2015-0034

Winning The Long Game by Krupp and Schoemaker is a blend of tested theory, stories of successful and unsuccessful leaders and the tale of one middle manager’s journey to “become more strategic”.

Krupp is chief executive officer, and Schoemaker is executive chairman of Decision Strategies International, a consultancy firm that operates in the field of dynamic strategy and leadership development. They draw on their consultancy experience and a wide range of reading and research to inform this book.

In this book, Krupp and Schoemaker borrow the American military description of the world we now live in – VUCA. This stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. In such a world, current routines do not assure continued success. Previous correlations and causations are poor predictors of future results. Consequently, 70 per cent of strategic initiatives fail to meet their planned aims.

The authors argue that the missing ingredient in a world characterised by VUCA is the critical combination of strategy and leadership. They contend that the management literature has rarely connected these two in any systematic way. As a test of this, a search on Amazon books for “leadership” returned over 37,000 hits; “strategy” returned some 46,000 hits; yet, “strategic leadership” returned less than 2,000. This weight of evidence would seem to support the authors’ contention.

Their model consists of six disciplines that any aspiring strategic leader needs to command and then meld. These disciplines form a roadmap for leaders in any organisation. The six are:

1. to anticipate;

2. to challenge;

3. to interpreting;

4. to decide;

5. to aligning; and

6. to learning.

In short, these are the skills of sensing, seizing and transforming. Executives are exhorted to move away from the introspective emphasis on efficiency and towards the strategic focus on creating long-term sustainable value. That is, to take an “outside-in” perspective.

Each chapter sets out the details of each discipline and its sub-components. The authors provide tools to run both a self-diagnostic and also to develop the skills of each discipline. Each discipline is illustrated with stories of positive accomplishments and also failures. The examples draw from a wide range of contexts – sailing, the Roman Catholic Church, retail, art collections, technology, toys, etc. The layout of each chapter recognises that not all readers find such examples alluring. Readers who wish to skim through the book can turn to the summary sections at the end of each section to distil the authors’ messages.

The first discipline is to anticipate changes in the market environment. This requires a strategic leader to scan sooner and wider. Signs can be picked up earlier by standing in the shoes of the customer and “stapling” yourself to a customer’s order. The strategic leader scans wider, going beyond conventional domains. Potential strategic responses are crafted by “war-gaming”. That is, predicting possible competitive moves and rehearsing the team’s own responses. From this, a portfolio of options can be drawn up – scenario planning. Few of the scenarios will be business as usual.

The second discipline is to challenge the status quo by opening the window and looking in the mirror. By taking in diverse views and challenging assumptions, new perspectives can be developed. “Red teams” are formed to challenge conventional strategic plans. Studying mavericks and listen to lonely voices help the strategic leader step outside of her comfort zone. Ensuring that there are multiple definitions of the problem before choosing any of them helps reframe the situation. Encouraging debate and resisting quick and easy consensus helps the team develop strategically.

The third discipline is to interpret a wide range of data and opinions. Here, the leader amplifies the signal and join the dots. Orthodox data, conventional analysis and traditional responses are of little use in a world characterised by VUCA; doing more of the same gains less. The strategic leader picks up on early signs. However, these are inevitably weak signals. To check out whether this is mere noise or the early signs of a new pattern, the leader develops the art of zooming in and out. That is, zooming into the details and zooming back out to reconsider the big picture. Through this scanning, the leader searches for evidence to disconfirm her hypotheses. This interpretation allows the leader and the team to generate competing explanations for what they are observing.

The fourth discipline is to decide what to do by exploring options and showing courage. Good leaders keep the range of options wide and avoid binary yes/no decisions. Alternatives are evaluated using criteria to weigh and rank each of the options. Leaders demonstrate courage by taking ownership of the decision, stepping up to the mark and making the tough call. The strategic leader solicits others to challenge his/her evaluation of the risks so flushing out any unintended consequences.

The fifth discipline is to align key players and to bridge differences. The strategic leader identifies and reaches out to those with a stake in the strategic decision. He/she appraises their interests and realigns incentives accordingly. He/she communicates her intent early, often and simply. He/she endeavours to turn opponents into allies through identifying mutual interests. He/she looks for and approaches signs of resistance. He/she listens and probes to identify differences.

The sixth discipline is to learn through wide experimentation and delving deeply. The authors quote Proctor & Gamble’s mantra: to fail fast, cheap and often. This approach encourages a culture of inquiry and discovery. Many small experiments aid fast learning. Experimentation takes the form of pilot programmes rather than riskier grand schemes. Strategic leaders also readily pull the plug on initiatives that fail to meet expectations. All experience is seen as fertile ground for learning. So leaders delve deeply by conducting protocols such as after-action reviews. A strategic leader’s ability to revise a plan when underway is regarded as more valuable than the ability to draft the plan in the first place. Mistakes are openly acknowledged and then exploited as sources of learning.

The authors round off the book by bringing all six disciplines together. They draw on the inspiring example of Nelson Mandela as the archetype strategic leader.

There is an inherent paradox embedded in the core argument of the book. Under conditions of VUCA, distinguishing between noise and signal is fraught. The authors acknowledge this. Past performance is no predictor of future outcomes. “In uncertain times, experience is not necessarily an asset”. However, the more a leader commands the six disciplines, the more attuned they will be to separate the faint, muffled signals from the background noise. The more they will then be able to steer their organisations to win the long game. For, “chance favours the prepared mind”.

A highly readable and practical guide to leadership skills in the twenty-first century.

About the author

Stephen Flynn is Director of SMF HR Consulting Ltd., Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, UK.