The Art of Strategy
Steps Towards Business Agility
Erik Schön
Agile Leadership Day #ALD2019
March 13, 2019 @ Stockholm
If you want to read more: The Art of Strategy — Introduction

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Sustainably thrive
in a world where
the rate of change
will never be slower
than today
Why Strategy?
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CHOICES
of harmonized direction
for the organization
or parts of the organization
done regularly
DECISIONS & ACTIONS
in a harmonized direction
by everyone everywhere
in the organization
What is Strategy?
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@erik_schon
Product Development Executive | Product Strategist | Executive Performance Coach
DISCLAIMER: LEGO® is a trademark of the LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize or endorse this presentation.@erik_schon #ALD2019

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Art of War
Sun Tzu ~400 BC
How to be
certain to win
and avoid fighting wars@erik_schon #ALD2019

Art of War
The Essence
Be prepared
Be influential
Be fast
Be adaptable
Be innovative@erik_schon #ALD2019

Art of War
Be Prepared Purpose
Landscape
ASSESSMENTS
Who has more influential purpose?
Who has more skilled leadership?
Who is favored by landscape and climate?
Who carries out doctrine more skillfully?
Who has more capabilities?
Who has more highly trained people?
Who provides feedback more clearly?
Doctrine
Leadership
Climate
Avoid engagement until assessments indicate certain success

Skilled combinations of
surprise and the expected
is
as infinite as heaven and earth
as inexhaustible as rivers and seas
ending only to begin again
like the sun and the moon
dying only to live again
like the four seasons
Art of War
Be Innovative
When engaging with stakeholders, first do what is expected, then use surprise to succeed

Example
Be Innovative: The Expected and the Surprise
Expected: call, mail, browse & listen to music just works
Surprise: in the same device with awesome touch interface
Outcome: customer delight & extreme loyalty@erik_schon #ALD2019

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Who’s the Real Top Gun?
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A Discourse on Winning and Losing
Briefed 1976-1997 by John Boyd
“He who can handle the quickest rate of change survives”

A Discourse on Winning and Losing
The Essence
Keep competition off balance
Build alliances
Harmonize creativity & initiative
Decide & learn in fast(er) cycles
@erik_schon #ALD2019 Chet Richards @FuentesDeOnoro

Keep Competition
Off Balance Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
Change situations faster than competition can figure out, again & again ...
OODA
Loop

Example
Keep Competition Off Balance: Change situations faster than competition
Develop and manufacture trucks faster, cheaper and with better quality
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Observe
Orient
Decide
Act OODA
“Loop”
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Observe Orient Decide Act
Unfolding
circumstances
Outside
information
IMPLICIT guidance & control
Unfolding interactions with environment
Use what we have learned and current strategy
Learn new things, revise strategy AND break out of old habits, even if successful so far
Decide and Learn in Fast(er) Cycles
Chet Richards @FuentesDeOnoro@erik_schon #ALD2019
Model of how the world is working
Situational Awareness

Decide and Learn in Fast(er) Cycles
Example: Regular Strategy Retro- & Prospectives
March
June
September
Current Situation?
New Insights?
Revise Strategy?
Revise Targets?
December
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Decide and Learn in Fast(er) Cycles
Example: Real-Time Management
08.00-08.15 Teams …… … …
Daily Standups
08.45-09.00 CTO’s leadership team
Issues that cannot be resolved
by CTO’s direct reports’ teams,
solution plan reported back within 24 hours
08.15-08.30 Management teams ………
Issues that cannot be resolved
by teams, solution plan
reported back within 24 hours
08.30-08.45 CTO’s direct reports’
management teams
…
Issues that cannot be resolved
by management teams,
solution plan reported back within 24
hours
@erik_schon #ALD2019
Create a CADENCE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

Katya Knyazeva

Characteristics
of a Map
Visual
Context-specific
Position
Components
Anchor
Movement
x
How can we
do this in
business?
Katya Knyazeva

Wardley Maps
Visualize
value chain evolution &
enable strategic choices
Market position? Competition
Expected market changes?
Focus? Strategic gameplays?
In-house, off-the-shelf, outsource?
Capabilities?
Methodologies?
Organization?
Simon Wardley @swardley

Wardley Maps
Visualize
value chain evolution &
guide strategic choices
Visual
Context-specific
Movement
(Evolution)
Position
(Relative to Anchor)
Component
Anchor
(User Needs)
Simon Wardley @swardley

Wardley Maps
Expected market changes
Focus
Outsource
Outsource
In-House
In-House
Off-the-Shelf
Off-the-Shelf
Off-the-Shelf
EXAMPLE: Gaming
Visualize
value chain evolution &
guide strategic choices!
Howard Rees @Howard_Rees

Novel Emerging Good Best
Evolution
Find the right home
Build the
thing right
Client side build
Build
Server side
build
PRACTICES
Server side test
Collaboration with
database analysts
Client side test
ValueChainVisibleInvisible
Wardley Maps
Maturity Mapping:
context-specific
capability assessments
Example:
Finding the right home
in the housing market
online
Chris McDermott @chrisvmcd

Simon Wardley @swardley
Faster
MAP:
User Need
Value Chain
Position
Movement
Anticipate change
Economic patterns
Competitors’ actions
Study & use gameplay
Study & use principles for
ways of operating,
communicating &
organizing
Sun Tzu’s Five Factors
Boyd’s OODA “Loop”
Wardley Mapping

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Agile
Ability to adapt to and influence new situations
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Agility
Ability to adapt to and influence new situations
more rapidly than your competitors
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Business
Succeed together with your stakeholders
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Business Agility
Ability to adapt to and influence new situations
more rapidly than your competitors
in order to
succeed together with your stakeholders
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The Art of Strategy
To succeed
by securing harmony among stakeholders
and keeping competition off balance
through evolving better capabilities
to adapt and map
@erik_schon #ALD2019

The Art of Strategy
To succeed
by securing harmony among stakeholders
and keeping competition off balance
through evolving better capabilities
to adapt and map
What would YOU
like to try?
@erik_schon #ALD2019

The Art of Strategy
To succeed
by securing harmony among stakeholders
and keeping competition off balance
through evolving better capabilities
to adapt and map
Q&A
@erik_schon #ALD2019

For Further Learning
Articles
McDermott, Mapping Maturity (2018)
Richards, Boyd’s OODA Loop. It’s Not What You Think (2018)
Schön, Doing Strategy the Interactive & Flexible Way (2018)
Schön, The Art of Strategy — Introduction (2019)
Wardley, An Introduction to Wardley (Value Chain) Mapping (2015)
Books
Boyd, A Discourse on Winning and Losing (2018)
Richards, Certain to Win (2004)
Schön, The Art of Strategy (2019)
Sun Tzu, The Art of War (2008)
Wardley, Wardley Maps (2018)
Videos
Richards, On OODA Loops, Adaptability & John Boyd (2012)
Schön, Doing Strategy the Interactive & Flexible Way (2018)
Wardley, Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones (2017)
@erik_schon #ALD2019

Thanks for Inspiration!
Melissa
Perris
Rita
Gunther
McGrath
Nilofer
Merchant
Chet
Richards
Simon
Wardley
Stockholm
Lean Coffee
Roger
Martin
@erik_schon #ALD2019