Make America Great Again? – Failure in the First Degree

We have been fortunate in that none of our family or close associates and friends that we know have gotten sick from COVID-19. As we sit at home attempting to construct some level of normalcy, I struggle with the magnificent failure of a system that is incapable of meeting the needs of its citizens. A system that has prioritized economics over public health. While the government, in record time, is pumping trillions of dollars into the economy to stop financial Armageddon, it has failed to put …Read More

Group50’s CEO, Jim Gitney, was recently asked by an executive about how he should manage the division he just took over as its president.  Jim told him “Manage it like you are going to sell it – maximize value creation”.   The executive gave a strange look and asked why that mattered. …Read More

The first blog in this series identified the phenomenon of Anti-Strategy as well-intentioned decisions made by senior leaders that are functionally focused because of a lack of a clear business strategy. With digital and information technology (IT) getting firmly established as a strategic corporate asset for middle market companies, we turn our attention to …Read More

In our earlier posts on Anti-Strategy—situations where well-intentioned employees act against company interests—we’ve explored various cause and effects. Today we consider the impact of poor communications on Anti-Strategy. “Do we need better communication around here?” The answer to that question is: It depends. Have you over-heard this common question (or complaint) lately? “Better communication” is the politically-correct solution of choice when “slip-ups” occur. “No one told me about that…”. …Read More

In our earlier posts on Anti-Strategy—situations wherein well-intentioned employees act against company interests—we’ve explored this all-too-common issue, some of its symptoms and how it shows up in various business functions. Today we consider the root cause: poor and/or untimely information availability and its damaging effect on a company’s culture. Absent information, particularly in a dynamic business environment, people tend to …Read More

In the Group50^® series on Anti-Strategy, we discuss how companies can unintentionally encourage well-meaning employees to act against their company’s best interests, whether through an unclear overall business strategy, a lack of information, or even badly designed sales compensation programs . In this series of blog posts, we’re going to address the question: How can businesses move from “Anti-Strategy” to “Actionable Strategy”? By “Actionable Strategy”, we don’t mean a strategy that lives in a PowerPoint presentation. We mean …Read More

The Group50^® series on Anti-Strategy, characterizes situations wherein talented, driven and well-intentioned employees unintentionally act against their company’s best interests. Anti-Strategy often occurs when strategy is unclear or information is lacking. Is there another cause that feeds Anti-Strategy? Is it possible, to have Anti-Strategy designed into the company’s own processes or policies? Absolutely! Let’s consider how this can happen in sales compensation systems.

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Anti-Strategy causes a negative impact on Market Effectiveness and your customers know it.  Let’s start with a couple of definitions before we get into the meat of this article: Anti-Strategy: Conscientious employees trying to do the right things without the guiding principles of a clear strategy.

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” Anti-Strategy ” is defined as result of the set of activities initiated by well-meaning people who don’t have a corporate strategy to guide their thinking. As you can imagine, without an overarching corporate strategy that properly focuses demand creation and the supply chain, a lot of decisions can be made that will sub optimize performance. If you think about …Read More

Anti-Strategy occurs when an organization’s strategy is not clear and functional leaders and individuals make choices in their best interests. Some call this “silo thinking” some call it “self-centered,” but without a clear Corporate Strategy it is impossible for groups to align to what is right for the entire organization! Without a clearly articulated Corporate Strategy, each function works on their priorities seemingly without regard to other department’s needs. Here are some examples of Anti-Strategy: …Read More