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 | 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...
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...
