Harnessing the Power of Causal Mapping for Better Decision-Making

Project Management for Non-Project Managers

Using Strategic Questioning to Explore Complex Subjects

“The answers are all out there, we just need to ask the right questions ” Oscar Wilde

At 2112 Consulting, we work from the perspective that strategy creation is based on information, much of which is messy and complex.  Consequently, the first step in the strategy creation process is gathering strategic information. Most of this information is subjective in nature, consisting of the thoughts and views of the key people within the organisation.

This information can, therefore, be difficult to obtain and to manage. As a result, we use tools and techniques that are designed to help us to obtain the views of key people. These are the individuals who will shape the future of the organisation and ultimately be responsible for implement the strategy.

Strategic questioning (also known as Socratic Questioning) is one of the primary techniques that we use. This helps to obtain facts, ideas and assumptions about the organisation and its future. The technique is used in both individual interviews and strategic workshops. In both of these methods, gathering useful information through asking the correct questions is important. The questions should help the individual or group generate ideas, uncover assumptions, examine concepts, identify and explore issues, goals and objectives.

Laddering

The questions that we ask are critical to the quality of the information that is obtained.  We use a technique called laddering to clarify and expand on the information obtained. This technique uses questions to understand the cause and effect relationship among statements and is crucial to creating a causal map.

Laddering works in two directions. You can ladder up to discover the impact of an idea, action, issue, etc. Laddering down, on the other hand, is used to uncover the cause of the outcome, i.e. what is driving the outcome. Consequently, the questions used in laddering typically fall into one of the following four categories:

Seeking clarification.

As a facilitator you should never make assumptions about what people mean.  It is, therefore, important so clarify what the person means by a statement that they make.  These will tend to be used to narrow the focus of a general statement, in other words, getting more specific information from the participant.

Testing beliefs and perspectives.

Everybody has their own belief system that is developed through their life experiences. These beliefs will influence how they look at things.  Typically, we will have a pen portrait of each of the participants involved in the strategy development process. This will give the facilitator an understanding of their background.  Understand the person allows the facilitator to ask questions to understand how their beliefs may influence their statements. As a result, we can ensure that their statements are taken in the correct context.

Examine reasoning and evidence.

People can make ‘off the cuff’ statements. If taken at face value could have an impact on strategic direction of the organisation.  Consequently, our facilitators will ask questions that are designed to validate the statements. This is done by ensuring that they are based in sound logic and that there is evidence to support them.  We often find that when we challenge a frivolous statement the person will amend or retract it. They may, for example, say “oh, that is not what I meant” or “what I meant to say was …”.

Explore cause and effect relationships.

Causal mapping is the primary tools we use to capture information that is used in the strategy creation process.  A crucial part of this process is understanding the implications and consequences of statements that are made by participants. In addition, this helps to add context to the content that is captured. This is important when analysing the strategic information that has been gathered.

Summary

In summary, strategic questioning is an important part of the strategy creation process. Done properly, it will uncover a wealth of detailed information that will ultimately be used as the building blocks of creating a robust strategic for the organisation.

A SWOT analysis is a commonly used tool that helps organisations to understand their current situation, both internally and externally.

The SWOT analysis helps to develop a comprehensive picture of a company’s current situation. This helps to identify potential areas for improvement. It can also help to evaluate the potential success of a proposed strategy. In additions, it helps to identify potential risks associated with a proposed course of action.

It is, therefore, an important tool for of the strategy creation process. The SWOT analysis helps to examine and analyse the entire organisation. This includes looking at it does well and the areas where it needs to improve. It also considers what external factors to account for when creating the strategy.

The SWOT analysis is, therefore, a very important part of the strategy creation processes. It helps answer the ‘where are we?’ question. This then helps us answer the question ‘how do we get from where we are to where we want to be?’.  In addition, it is the answers to these questions that identify the activities the organisation needs to take to achieve its objectives and goals.

SWOT is an acronym for:

Strengths

Identify and understanding the things that the organisation is good at is an important aspect of the strategy creation process. In particular, the strengths that support the organisations goals and objectives are critical to supporting and sustaining the strategy model.

Weaknesses

Locate issues that the organisation needs to improve upon. It is especially important for those that have the potential to negatively impact the future development of the organisation.

Opportunities

Find and evaluate events that are happening or will happen in the external environment that would benefit the organisations strategic future.

Threats

The things that are happening or may happen in the external environment that would have a negative impact on the future development of the organisation.

Our approach to the SWOT analysis.

A conventional SWOT analysis captures information as a set of statements. The problem is that contextual information normally lost. In addition, statements surfaced during the analysis are not directly linked to the business strategy.

While the information we collect is the same, we  create causal links amongst the various elements of the SWOT analysis. We also link the elements of the SWOT to the relevant elements of the strategy model.  This effectively creates a map of the SWOT. It also integrates that map into the overall strategy model. The result is a better understanding of the issues and how they affect the business goals and objectives.

For move information, read ‘How to make the most of a SWOT Analysis’…

The Strategy Creation Process

A Participative Approach to Strategy Development & Business Planning

Involving the key people in your organisation in the strategic planning process by obtaining information about your business and its future is a critical part of building a strong strategy. We will work closely with you and your team to understand your business and your vision for its future. This helps us to gain a clear understanding of where your business is today, where it will be in the future and what may get in the way.

To do this, we use proven strategy development tools and techniques to that help manage the development of strategy more effectively and with better results. It is a highly participative approach to strategy development which works from ideas generation to the development of strategic options and even managing the activities that help attain your organisation’s goals.

Importantly, emphasis is placed on consensus rather than compromise.  This increases the chances of creating a strategy that works for the organisation and, therefore, being implemented.

The fact that we are identifying and evaluating activities that will help the business achieve its goals means that we have a solid foundation on which to create a business plan.

Understanding how activities interlink and ultimately lead to achieving objectives and goals means that decision making is improved. This is because there is an increased awareness of all of the issues, activities, objectives and goals within the organisation.

The key to the successful development and implementation of business strategy can be found in the management of the six components summarised below:

What Next?

Once the final strategic plan has been agreed we move on to creating the Business Plan which is designed to attain the Objectives, Goals and Vision that have been agreed. This stage builds on the work done in the strategy creation phase to create a ‘roadmap’ detailing how you will move the organisation from where it is to where you want it to be.

Once the business plan has been created, it’s time to implement it.  This means identifying the key activities and prioritising them to ensure that the organisation attains its long-term goals and vision. It is also important that short-term ‘wins’ are identified to help ensure that people buy into the process by seeing early success. Creating a measurement system to ensure that the activities undertaken by the organisation are resulting in the expected outcomes.

Gathering Strategic Information

Obtaining and managing information, much of which is complex, is the foundation of building a robust business strategy.

Obtaining information is a crucial part of developing a strategy for your business.  The majority of this information will come from the key people in your organisation and it is important to ensure that the information provided is both accurate and comprehensive.

Consequently, it is critical that the processes used to acquire the information is both robust and thorough.  We have developed processes to ensure that the people involved in strategy development feel secure so that they are open and honest with their thoughts, views and ideas.

There are two ways to obtain the information that is used in the strategy creation and business planning processes. In both cases the information is captured and then analysed to identify and structure the key components of the business strategy.

Practical Application

We are likely to use both of these methods in a strategy creation project.  The order I which they are carried out will depend on the organisation, its culture and the level of detail our client wants to go into.

The most common method would be to start with group workshops to generate high level ideas about the where the organisation will be in the future, how it will get there and what way get in the way.  These group workshops would then be followed with strategic interviews to obtain more detail about where the ideas, issues and options raised in the workshops.

In some cases, we will start with strategic interviews to allow people to express themselves freely. The information gathered in the interviews would then be collated for further review in a group workshop.

There is, however, no ‘one size fits all’ solution.  We always work with our client to design a strategy creation project that best fits the needs of the organisation.

What is Mission Statement?

A Mission Statement is an integral component of a business’s strategic plan.

A mission statement describes what business the organisation is in (and what it isn’t) both now and projecting into the future. Its aim is to provide focus for management and staff on which to base all business decisions and strategies.  It should encapsulate the product or service the business delivers, the audience it delivers it to and the problem it solves.

A mission statement often consists of three essential components:

• Key market: the target audience.
• Contribution: the product or service.
• Distinction: what makes the product unique or why the audience should buy it over another.

Most mission statements are between one and three sentences, never exceeding 100 words. The best mission statements are typically a single succinct sentence that is designed to inspire people, both inside and outside the organisation. Keep this in mind when crafting a mission statement.

In order to develop a mission statement, stand back and consider the purpose of the business (why it exists), who it is meant to serve and how the profits should be generated and distributed. In addition, it is important to ensure that the mission statement goes beyond the current horizons and includes future opportunities and challenges.

The organisations mission, combined with the vision statement will describe the aspirations for the future of the organisation in a way that inspires people to strive to reach them.

Some of the benefits of having a good mission statement includes the following:

• Communicating the direction of the organisation.
• Helping people to make day-to-day operating decisions.
• Keep the organisation focused.
• Motivating the organisations people.

For further information, read out article “How to Create a Mission Statement“.

Creating a new strategy for your business almost always results in introducing new ideas, initiatives and change. Measuring results can help people embrace change. Naturally, there will be people who are sceptical about the changes that are being made.  Some may even be resistant to the change.

This does not mean that people are being deliberately difficult or obstructive.  Think about it.  If you have been doing something a particular way for years and someone comes along and tells you to do it is a very different way your natural reaction will be to be sceptical.

When people can see positive outcomes from their actions and activities, they will be more likely to buy in to the changes that will inevitably result from the introduction of a new strategy.

Creating and implementing a comprehensive measurement system that enables people to see the results of the new ideas will help achieve this.

How to Create a Mission Statement

A mission statement describes what you do, for who, and how. Focusing on your mission each day should enable you to reach your vision.

Four questions need to be considered when defining the mission of the company.  The answers to these questions will have an impact on how you formulate your strategy and how that strategy is subsequently implemented:

1.   What is our area of activity – and what should it be?

The focus of the activity needs to be narrow enough to be actionable and broad enough to allow scope for development.  In order to ensure that you can adapt your strategy without changing your vision for your business, the mission of the company should not be tied to any type of activity or service.  In light of this, you should consider the following questions:

• What business are you/should you be in?
• Where and how do/should you add value to your clients?
• How does/should your added value differ from that delivered by your competitors?
• What does your mission tell you in broad terms about how you might/should be structured?

In addition to exploring these questions from an internal perspective, it can be useful to examine them from your client’s perspective.  For example, which activities do they value now and what might they value in the future?

It can also be useful take account of your competitive resources – the chosen area of activity should be related to the key strengths that support the competitive advantage that your company has (or would like to have).

2.   What kind of company do we want to be?

Two areas that will help shape the mission of the company should be considered here:

1)   Values and ethical standards:

• What values do/should we hold and why?
• How do/should we wish to conduct ourselves?
• How do we measure up to these ideals?

2)   Culture and Style of the company:

Given the amount of time and effort employees put into the company, it is important that you provide a good ‘living space’ for those engaged in its activities.

The following questions should be considered here:

• How do/should you undertake your work?
• What organisational structure do you want to adopt? (Hierarchical, Team based, Entrepreneurial, etc.)
• What challenges should be posed to the members of the company?
• How are/can employees be motivated?
• How are/should employees be rewarded?

3.   What is the relative importance of shareholders and stakeholders?

For many companies, their mission is to advance the interests of the owners, usually the shareholders.  There are, however, others who will have an interest in the business and its strategy.  This group are known as ‘stakeholders’ and may include staff within the company and, perhaps, interested external individuals or groups, such as the bank.  It is, therefore important to identify stakeholders who need to be ‘managed’ in order to ensure that they support (or at least don’t oppose) the proposed business strategy.  This task should be left until after the strategic vision and objectives have been defined because it is important to review stakeholders in light of the emerging strategy.

4.  What is our relationship with our immediate environment and with society in general?

In the immediate environment, the main problems affecting the mission are likely to be the level of general turbulence in the market and the strength of competitive activity. In the wider environment, your mission needs to be considered in light of things like Government policy.  It is important to consider these factors in light of the emerging strategy model (using a SWOT analysis, for example).  Consequently, these should be explored after the first draft of the strategic plan has been agreed.

Creating the Strategy Model

The creation of the strategy model is an integral part of the overall strategy creation process as shown in the diagram.

The strategy model is created by identifying its building blocks from the information captured in the strategy creation process. This is achieved by analysing the information to identify key activities, objectives, operational goals and strategic goals. These are shown in the diagram below.