The War Slralegic Room reresenls a managemenl leam's shared ercelion of lheir business, a virluaI room from vhich lhe business slralegy viII be Ianned and execuled. Il is a melahor for lhe shared gIobaI viev of lhe business and ils environmenl. uiIding a War Room slarls vilh buiIding lhe common underslanding of lhe suIy chain and lhe basis on vhich key slakehoIders evaIuale managemenl erformance and caabiIily. The managemenl leam's coIIeclive inleIIigence rovides lhe basis for consensus on lhe riorilies for changes. Workshos Ied by an exerienced faciIilalor enabIe managers lo riorilize lhe informalion lo sel direclion and eslabIish goaIs for lheir unils. The faciIilalor's roIe is lo buiId consensus of lhe oulcome of lhe vorksho. Iive mas form lhe var room lhe usi- ness Invironmenl Ma, lhe DeIivery Ma, lhe SlakehoIder Ma, lhe Slralegy Ma and lhe GoaI Ma. AII mas are needed lo gel lhe shared gIobaI viev of lhe business and ils environmenl, and lo seIecl lhe righl goaIs and slralegies. The business Iogic of our aroach can be summarized in four rinciIes: ! Using managers' emovermenl lo lake lhe inilialive based on lheir ovn mission and ovn insighl ! Iocus on hov key slakehoIders (inleresled arlies) evaIuale lhe organisalion's erformance and caabiIily ! Track and imrove lhe organisalion's caabiIilies vhich imrove erformance ! CoIIaborale vilh key slakehoIders in deveIoing lhe mosl comelilive suIy chain The baIance belveen slralegic and oeralionaI lasks is a significanl one. A manager's lradilionaI lask is lo Ian, organize, foIIov u, reorl and affirm by signing. Mosl managers are aIso resonsibIe for recruilmenl, saIary negolialions and, vhere necessary, lerminalions, and lhese are oeralionaI lasks lhal cannol be deIegaled. ul
Developing a Strategic War Room through Facilitation By Krister Forsberg and Per-Olov Olsson 13 IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009 many olher lasks, such as suervision and robIem soIving, can be.
Needs different skill set Slralegic lasks require a differenl skiII sel from oeralionaI lasks. A manager may vork in a Managemenl Team or aIone, coIIaboraling vilh lheir mosl imorlanl slakehoIders. Wilhin lhe Managemenl Team, managers viII generale a gIobaI iclure of lhe organisalion and lhe environmenl in vhich il oerales, incIuding an anaIysis of lhe suIy chain and lhe organisalion's inlernaI rocesses. Iarl of lhe managemenl rocess invoIves riorilizing lhe lrends and evenls vhich inform one's aclions. Oulside lhe Managemenl Team, lhe lask is lo engage key slakehoIders, drive change, communicale vilh emIoyees, and foIIov u on erformance. Assuming a slralegic roIe requires managers lo adol severaI very differenl roIes from lhose lhey occuy in daiIy oeralionaI vork. Ralher lhan laking aII of lhe vork on lheir ovn shouIders, managers can use lhe Managemenl Team far more effecliveIy by Iearning lo share slralegic lasks and acl in lhe roIes as goaI drivers and reIalionshi managers. Many managemenl modeIs and melhods are nol efficienl lo aIy for managers vorking in a highIy comelilive environmenl in lhe 21sl cenlury. To be more efficienl in lhe managemenl rocess, emovered managemenl leams need lo adal lvo shifls: The firsl is lo shifl from lhe lo dovn aroach in vhich goaIs are cascaded from lhe lo, lo creale a hierarchy of goaIs, lo lhe emovered aroach in vhich managers acl on lheir ovn inilialive oul of lheir ovn mission and ovn insighl. Iach managemenl leam has ils ovn business environmenl and suIy chain lo manage. The second shifl is from idenlifying goaIs from a vision and re-delermined erseclive (e.g. finance, cuslomer, rocess) lo idenlifying goaIs from hov lhe key SlakehoIders evaIuale erformance and lhe abiIily lo erform. In lhe managemenl rocess, a manager may have one or severaI roIes - ReIalionshi Manager, GoaI Driver and GoaI Ovner. As a GoaI Driver, he/she is resonsibIe for achieving a given goaI by aIIocaling resources and ensuring foIIov u. The GoaI Ovner is lhe head of lhe unil for vhom lhe secific goaIs are designed. The key lo success in GoaI Ovnershi Iies in lhe caabiIily of lhe GoaI Drivers and ReIalionshi Managers lhal are seIecled and aoinled. 14 IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009
Collaborate with key Stakeholders As ReIalionshi Manager, managers musl engage key slakehoIders, coIIaboraling vilh lhem by sharing insighls, asiralions and resuIls, engaging lhem in commerciaI or non- commerciaI oorlunilies, invoIving lhem in soIving robIems, and sharing ercelions of risk vilh lhem. The effecl is lo creale a diaIog vilh SlakehoIders one lhal is characlerized by lrusl and lransarency. The urose is lo buiId lhe mosl comelilive suIy chain, vhich requires emovered Managemenl Teams vorking in nelvorks and driven by lheir ovn shared sense of mission. Ior managers, slakehoIder anaIysis invoIves idenlifying lheir mosl imorlanl slakehoIders. Their Iine manager or sonsor is a key SlakehoIder. The slakehoIders have execlalions of lheir erformance and caabiIily. The ovner of lhe business, chairman of lhe board, inveslors and aulhorilies aII beIong lo lhe circIe of imorlanl slakehoIders. Their mosl imorlanl slakehoIder is, hovever, lheir cuslomer. IinaIIy, vilhin lheir ovn organisalion, lhey viII cooerale vilh lheir ovn eoIe on 15 IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009 hov lo efficienlIy communicale changes, goaIs, and so on.
Facilitator is key to success To leam effecliveness usuaIIy requires an exerienced faciIilalor, as nol aII managemenl leams have reached lhe IeveI of malurily needed lo manage slralegicaIIy. When faciIilaling Man- agemenl Teams in idenlifying slralegies and goaIs, lhe faciIilalor is focused on vhal lhe man- agers aIready knov, ralher seeking oul nev ideas lhrough brainslorming. The ansvers lo lhe key queslions are in lhe heads of lhe managers. Our exeriences from faciIilaling lhese leams suggesl lhal: ! Managemenl leams need lime lo Iearn lo vork efficienlIy and effecliveIy logelher. Immalure managemenl leams are IikeIy lo be diverled by confIicls and over slruggIes, ! Many managemenl leams lry lo gras everylhing lhal lhey lhink is imorlanl, consequenlIy, lhey sel loo many goaIs and Iose focus on vhal is mosl imorlanl. Lack of riorilizalion is one of lhe mosl common obslacIes lo aclion, Ivery managemenl leam needs a common underslanding of lhe lasks lhe individuaI leam members musl erform if lhe organizalion is lo achieve more. The mosl successfuI managemenl leams are lhose lhal use defined slralegic roIes lhroughoul lhe managemenl rocess, lhe mosl imorlanl of vhich are ReIalionshi Manager, GoaI Ovner and GoaI Driver. A managemenl leam viII achieve more if ils members knov each olher's slrenglhs and are viIIing lo comensale for veaknesses. AII leam members musl accel lhal aII roIes in a managemenl leam are equaIIy imorlanl. 16 IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009 Managers oflen form a diverled grou of individuaIs, vhich viII chaIIenge lhe skiIIs of lhe faciIilalor in any vorkshos. Grou dynamics and lhe cIimale viII aIso infIuence lhe resuIls. Gelling lo knov lhe leam members is lhe essenliaI firsl sle for a faciIilalor. Is lhe managemenl leam a high-erformance leam good al managing grou dynamics, or a grou of fruslraled managers sliII seeking lheir roIes`
Providing methods and tools Whal are lhe olher rerequisiles for a var room beyond underslanding lhe slage of deveIomenl of lhe managemenl leam` The faciIilalor needs lo rovide lhe managemenl leam vilh melhods and looIs lo make high- quaIily decisions in consensus. His or her roIe is as enabIer in lhe vorksho rocess and buiIding consensus of lhe oulcome. Over lhe years, ve have deveIoed a sel of inler-reIaled melhods lo meel five secific crileria. These melhods shouId be: ! Generic aIicabIe lo aII organisalions in lerms of size, lye, IeveI and managemenl syslem ! SeIeclive idenlifying lhe vilaI fev ieces of informalion in order lo excIude vhal is Iess imorlanl ! SlakehoIder focused lhe rocess musl be cenlred on hov key slakehoIders evaIuale lhe organisalion's erformance and caabiIily, and on coIIaboralion vilh lhose slakehoIders ! Iasl aIicabIe on aII IeveIs/unils in araIIeI lo save Iead lime. AII sles inlerreIale seamIessIy for lhe desired oulcome ! ComIele rovide suorl lhroughoul lhe rocess from iniliaI anaIysis lo foIIov u on slralegy imIemenlalion incIuding rogress revievs of aclions and goaIs achieved Once a managemenl leam has run ils firsl successfuI var room, lhey find il much easier lo reeal or deveIo lhe rocess. The Slralegic War Room becomes lheir shared gIobaI viev of lheir business and ils environmenl bolh menlaIIy and icloriaIIy, and is lheir besl source for crealing a communicalion slory lhal mobiIizes and engages lheir eoIe in achieving lheir goaIs and fuIfiIIing lheir slralegy.
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