by Stuart Cross | Jun 28, 2022 | Strategy
Many leadership teams spend significant amounts of time together determining strategies and plans for their organisation. Yet, for many, the resulting strategy lacks both clarity and coherence. As a result, nothing much really changes and managers end up simply...
by Stuart Cross | Jun 23, 2022 | Strategy
When I first worked with the leadership team of Topps Tiles on the company’s strategy, Matt Williams, the CEO, was looking to create a clear focus for growth. Rightly, the team wanted to focus on the company’s performance in wall and floor tiles, but the business...
by Stuart Cross | Jun 15, 2022 | Strategy
I’m fortunate that, as part of my work, I get to spend time with some of the UK’s leading business executives. A while back, for instance, I hosted a forum of Chief Strategy Officers from a range of FTSE 100 companies. During the session, we discussed and agreed on 8...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 24, 2021 | Strategy
Innovation is more important to business success than ever. Shortening product lifecycles, the pace of technological breakthroughs and global competition have served to place a premium on companies that can innovate. Yet, while 80% of business leaders say that...
by Stuart Cross | Nov 17, 2021 | Strategy
Ten years ago, I published my first book, The CEO’s Strategy Handbook. I wanted to write a practical guide on strategy for business leaders, enabling them to lead their teams and organisations to a better, more successful future. As part of the research for the book,...
by Stuart Cross | Oct 20, 2021 | Strategy
A prospect recently asked me to summarise the factors that make the difference between successful and unsuccessful strategies. In my experience, many business leaders can become frustrated that their organisation struggles to deliver a strategy that, in their own...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 2, 2021 | Strategy
Success rates in strategy execution are depressingly low. Research suggests that approximately 50% of strategies fail to meet their goals, though other studies have found that less than 10% of strategies are ‘fully’ delivered. So, how do you set up your most important...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 16, 2020 | Covid, Strategy
In a recent blog post, I set out the reasons for you to move from simply managing the immediate people, operational and financial challenges of the COVID-19 crisis, and to start to think about how your business can succeed in the longer-term...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 14, 2020 | Covid, Strategy
Over the past few weeks, management teams across the country have worked tirelessly to manage the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their business. Looking after the safety and security of your people, managing cashflow and operational emergencies and simply staying...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 8, 2020 | Strategy
I’ve recently been sharing how you can carry out a 6-Day Strategy for your business. I’ve already covered Day 1 on your Current Position, Day 2 on Future Possibilities, Day 3 on Setting the Direction, Day 4 on Defining the Organisation and Day 5 on Shaping the Agenda....
by Stuart Cross | Apr 7, 2020 | Strategy
I’ve recently been sharing how you can carry out a 6-Day Strategy for your business. I’ve already covered Day 1 on your Current Position, Day 2 on Future Possibilities, Day 3 on Setting the Direction and Day 4 on Defining the Organisation. The objective of the Day 5...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 3, 2020 | Strategy
I’ve recently been sharing how you can carry out a 6-Day Strategy for your business. I’ve already covered Day 1 on your Current Position, Day 2 on Future Possibilities and Day 3 on Setting the Direction. The focus on Day 4 is to determine the organisation that will be...
by Stuart Cross | Apr 1, 2020 | Strategy
I recently shared the outline of my 6-Day Strategy and have already set out my approach for Day 1’s session on assessing your current position and Day 2’s focus on future possibilities. The focus of Day 3 is to take the outputs of the first two days’ work and create a...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 25, 2020 | Strategy
Last week I shared the outline of my 6-Day Strategy and yesterday set out my approach to manage Day 1, which focuses on understanding the current position of your business. The objective of Day 2 is to identify growth opportunities beyond the next three years. It’s...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 23, 2020 | Business Rocks, Strategy
Last week, I shared the outline of my 6-Day Strategy process, which gives a fast, focused but robust approach to setting a compelling strategy for your business. The first question that any strategy review needs to answer is, “What is happening here?” and so the first...
by Stuart Cross | Mar 18, 2020 | Covid, Strategy
As the coronavirus lockdown becomes tighter, ‘business-as-usual’ has been thrown out of the window. While some companies are dealing with spikes in demand (healthcare, grocery), most are seeing sales fall sharply. The priorities for the leaders of these businesses are...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 18, 2020 | Strategy
I am delighted to offer the Small Business Strategy Powerhouse as it answers two questions that I’ve been considering. First, how can I create something of genuine value to small business owners and leaders? And, second, how can I get more companies involved in the...
by Stuart Cross | Feb 11, 2020 | Strategy
Strategic success happens when you’re the first to profitably exploit a change in your external environment. Innocent Drinks, for example, succeeded because they were the first to find a customer-focused, commercial solution to our increasing desire for natural,...
by Stuart Cross | Oct 3, 2019 | Strategy
There is a lot of mystique surrounding coaching, but it is a relatively simple, common sense process. In recent years, I have added coaching services to my business, helping successful executives become even more effective. Here are 7 steps below for you to...
by Stuart Cross | Sep 25, 2019 | Strategy
As I’ve consulted with different organisations – from small enterprises to some of the largest corporations on the planet – 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...
