The focus of the product strategy ASR is on aligning the products based on the current and future pressures and associated targets. Critical decisions are made: what’s in, what’s out, retire, develop, in-source, out-source, to plan a portfolio that will respond to the pressures and deliver to the targets.
The Action Strategy Review incorporates six analysis components:
- Pressure Points: The forces on your organization that you must focus strategic efforts to address. For example, “Our market share is shrinking on Product A.”
- The Target: The measurable results you should expect if you have successfully addressed the Pressure Points via the Business, Organization, and Change Strategy. For example, “40% increase in customer satisfaction” and “25% reduction in transaction costs.”
- Strategic Initiatives: The key, high-level strategies that you will employ to achieve the Target. For example, “Focus engineering and manufacturing efforts on improving the reliability of the product.”
- Organization Strategy: The organizational components that must be present to reach the Target; i.e., information, resources, structure, and performance incentives. For example, “Engineering and Manufacturing need to receive reliability feedback as soon as Field Service gets it from the customer.”
- Culture: The hidden undercurrent that effects how people feel about the organization, how decisions are made, and what norms for interaction exist. This is the subjective sieve through which objective strategies pass to become reality. For example, “Traditionally in this organization, Service and Sales don’t communicate accurately or in a timely manner with Engineering and Manufacturing about customer problems.”
- Change Strategy & Action Planning: An assessment of how ready the organization is to make the needed changes. The result is the development of a realistic plan of action for change, including selection of the most applicable methodology. For example, “Develop a plan for involving key people when implementing changes in communication channels, using the Workout approach.”
Benefits of the Action Strategy Review:
- Aligns the leadership team behind a vision and strategy for change
- Prioritizes potential opportunities for future change efforts
- Identifies the right approach to address each selected opportunity
- Commits resources and drives leader accountability for change