by Stuart Cross | Feb 5, 2020 | Leadership
Over the years, I’ve worked with dozens of companies and executive leaders. In that time, I’ve learned that a high degree of mystery and confusion surrounds the term “strategy”. However, strategy is, at its heart, a simple concept. It is about setting a direction for...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 5, 2019 | Leadership
Speed is far more important than accuracy in securing business success. As the Lee Iacocca, the former boss of Chrysler, once said, “So what do we do? Anything. Something. So long as we just don’t sit there. If we screw it up, start over. Try something else. If we...
by Stuart Cross | Jul 4, 2019 | Leadership
One of the key tasks of managers is to gain support and approval for new ideas. Sometimes this can be done quickly and informally, but for bigger decisions, a more formal approach is required. So, whether you want funding for a new product or service idea, approval...
by Stuart Cross | May 16, 2019 | Leadership
Are you suffering from a surfeit of successful initiatives? Is your organisation sick and tired of delivering new ideas and solutions? Don’t worry. Here are seven ways that you can ensure that your projects will struggle and fail, helping you to remove a lot of...
by Stuart Cross | May 15, 2018 | Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Speed and Pace
Managers value predictability; it gives them a sense of control over external events. In my experience, results that do not match initial expectations are not normally welcomed, and actions are quickly put in place to restore performance to expected levels. Even...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 18, 2018 | Innovation, Leadership, Speed and Pace, Strategy
In my experience, 70% or more of the attention of most senior executives is devoted to problem-solving, and up to 40-50% of it is on ‘fire-fighting’, resolving big, urgent issues as they arise. If you wish to gain a stronger position in your market, however, you...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 4, 2018 | Leadership, Performance Improvement, Speed and Pace
In recent weeks I’ve come across several examples where leadership teams have been struggling to get important new projects off the ground. In one instance, a three-month gap had emerged between agreeing the need for a particular set of projects and any work...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 21, 2018 | Leadership, Simplicity, Speed and Pace, Strategy
Every organisation I’ve ever known or worked with has had a myriad of goals, objectives and targets. The trouble with too many competing objectives, however, is that it results in unnecessary confusion and complexitWhen I work with my clients we determine their #1...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 1, 2018 | Leadership, Simplicity, Speed and Pace, Strategy
It takes a photon of light a little over 8 minutes to reach the earth after it leaves the sun’s surface. In the vacuum of space, the photon literally travels at the speed of light over the 150 million km journey. But doesn’t light always travel at that velocity? Well,...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 26, 2018 | Leadership
What is the minimum that KFC, the chicken fast-food restaurant, should be able to offer its customers? The answer, of course, is chicken. Amazingly, however, KFC were unable to offer chicken in most of its restaurants across the UK last week. Many of which were forced...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 19, 2018 | Growth, Leadership, Strategy
Last week, I met with an old client who shared with me his company’s latest strategy pack. The document, prescribed by the Group Head Office, was 126 pages long and full of analysis, charts, tables, graphs and action plans. There was also one page in the pack...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 29, 2018 | Leadership, Strategy
We’ve all been there. The annual strategy away day is a fixture for many management teams. And yet, all too often, these sessions generate more heat than light. Real breakthroughs are remarkably thin on the ground. Over the years, I have run dozens of these events and...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 18, 2018 | Growth, Leadership, Speed and Pace, Strategy
Towards the end of last year, I was talking to the CEO of a large UK retailer who was bemoaning the lack of progress in delivering his company’s strategic agenda. Earlier in the year, he and his executive team had spent several days developing a clear new growth...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 9, 2018 | Leadership, Strategy
What is a strategy? This seemingly simple question can lead to a wide variety of answers. Some people will tell you that it’s a vision. Others will say it’s a plan of action. While others will talk about having a clear position in your market. My own view – and...
by Stuart Cross | Jan 4, 2018 | Innovation, Leadership, Performance Improvement, Speed and Pace, Strategy
Whatever your views about the ongoing Brexit discussions, there can be little argument that the situation is creating uncertainty for UK businesses and their leaders. A slow-down of economic growth, falling house prices and sales, a devaluing currency and rising...
by Stuart Cross | Dec 6, 2017 | Growth, Leadership, Strategy
Few companies recognise the power of investing in strategies rather than initiatives. Most companies I know demand detailed discounted cash flow statements for all proposed projects. These projections must show significant payback before the initiative is considered...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 28, 2017 | Innovation, Leadership, Speed and Pace, Strategy
Embed from Getty Images The news that Prince Harry is to marry his long-term girlfriend, Meghan Markle, seems to have created a positive public reaction across the UK and beyond. Back in the 1930s, the idea that a member of the royal family was planning to marry an...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 21, 2017 | Growth, Leadership, Simplicity, Strategy
My big problem with the Balanced Scorecard approach to strategy and performance management is that is, well, too balanced. It makes everything of equal importance. In most Balanced Scorecard projects and reports I’ve seen, there is a general assumption that all goals...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 14, 2017 | Growth, Innovation, Leadership, Speed and Pace, Strategy, Stuart's World
Last week I ran one of my periodic “Big Breakfast” meetings in London. The topic was “How Failure Can Accelerate Growth”. A dozen business leaders attended, from companies with revenues ranging from around £5 million to £50 billion, and Tim Wright, the CEO of NPW...
by Stuart Cross | Oct 19, 2017 | Leadership, Strategy
A common business saying is that strategy doesn’t fail in development but in implementation. I disagree. Most businesses can develop a reasonable strategic ambition and are fairly good at implementing projects. In many cases strategy simply falls through the gap...
