by Stuart Cross | Sep 11, 2019 | Strategy
Twice a year I host a Chief Officers’ Forum, where senior executive directors from some of the UK’s leading companies have a roundtable discussion on wide-ranging topics. At one of our meetings we agreed some golden rules for strategy development. Which of them could...
by Stuart Cross | Jun 26, 2019 | Strategy
The annual off-site leadership meeting, when the top team spend time in a nice hotel to review performance and some longer-term objectives, is a ritual pursued by most companies. But, all too often, these strategy retreats are lost opportunities that produce, at best,...
by Stuart Cross | May 30, 2019 | Strategy
I have been involved in several major cost reduction initiatives, adopting a variety of roles. My experience is that very few managers look positively on these projects and will do almost everything they can to avoid them. The result is that relatively few cost...
by Stuart Cross | May 21, 2019 | Strategy
The best strategy conversations start with two words: What if…… What if we became a truly digital business? What if we halved our product offering? What if we could double our speed to market? What if we were able to create completely bespoke solutions for all...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 18, 2019 | Growth, Strategy
If a tree falls in a forest and no-one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Equally, if a new business strategy is developed and there is no-one willing to deliver it, did it ever really exist? One of the biggest mistakes executives with their strategy is that...
by Stuart Cross | Aug 20, 2018 | Strategy
We’ve just returned from an enjoyable family holiday on the Algarve. Staying at the Penina Hotel near Alvor, I had a week of golf with my wife and three sons. I’ve played less than a dozen rounds over the past 10-15 years, so I was a little apprehensive about how I...
by Stuart Cross | May 17, 2018 | Business Rocks, Simplicity, Speed and Pace, Strategy
This week’s focus: One of my key messages to my clients is the need to focus on their big priorities. Too many organisations get bogged down in vain attempts to move a million ‘strategic’ projects forward, rather than concentrating on the handful of initiatives...
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 | 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 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 30, 2017 | Strategy
No one in an organization has as much leverage as the CEO. From the moment you walk into the building on your first day (and probably before), everyone is scrutinizing your actions and behaviours. They are looking for patterns and inconsistencies. Others will rapidly...
