The Oliver Wight Class A Standard for Business Excellence

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• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2017
• Print ISBN:
  9781119404477
• Edition: 7
• eBook ISBN:
  9781119404491
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Consulting
• Index: Business

The Oliver Wight Class A Standard for Business Excellence is the definitive, comprehensive statement of excellence in business today. Oliver Wight's Class A Standard is the accumulated practice and experience of Oliver Wight Consultants around the world. It reflects the effort and achievement of thousands of client companies who have used the standard, and the benchmark capability it enables, to differentiate their business.        

The Seventh Edition will be the standard of business excellence for all businesses. The standard will take the reader through an understanding of business maturity and how to drive increase maturity with corresponding sustainable business benefit.  Using the Oliver Wight Proven Path, a journey of "Milestones" focused on strategic priorities that drive you through a series of defined Maturity Transitions, people, behavior and processes all become more aligned and focused. Updated content will include new information on collaboration, segmentation, value chain, analytics, optimization, and planning.

Please note: Previous editions of this book were titled The Oliver Wight Class A Checklist for Business Excellence.

1
Managing the Strategic Planning Process

Purpose

To establish and manage the process for setting vision, strategy, and direction to be a Class A company and improve the company's competitive position. To ensure the strategy is reflected through driving and supporting roadmaps that then direct all programs, projects, plans, and actions throughout the company.

Positioning

Strategic Planning processes mature over time through education, committed leadership, expert guidance, and improved market, customer, competitor, and business analysis. Many companies begin Class A improvement journeys in a disconnected state, marked by functional silos, defensive behaviors, a disproportionate focus on the past, and a lack of clarity about the future.

The ability for businesses to make swift and trusted decisions is essential. This is enabled through an integrated Strategic Planning process that clearly defines the business direction laid out in driving and supporting roadmaps covering a horizon that typically extends out five years or more.

Done well, Strategic Planning enables a growing ownership of the business direction, challenges, and opportunities. With increased ownership comes improved communication and understanding which, in turn, enables improved, focused decision making through Integrated Business Planning.

The standard for Strategic Planning defined in this chapter is implemented through a Class A Milestone that drives the next level of process maturity.

Chapter Content

1. Understanding and Analyzing the Internal and External Environment
2. Vision, Mission, and Values
3. Strategic Plan
4. Bringing the Future into Today
5. Strategy Deployment
6. Evaluation and Control
7. Business Strategy Management Process
8. Risk Management
9. Performance Measurement
10. Behaviors and Competencies

Understanding and Analyzing the Internal and External Environment

1. A Process Exists to Collect Relevant Information Internally and Externally to Understand the Company's Products and Services Portfolio, Its Marketplace, the Competition, and Future Opportunities.

a. Company Capability

Core business processes are analyzed for their capability to ensure the company's offer to the marketplace and its Value Proposition. Strengths and weaknesses of these are identified and actions put in place to address them.

b. Industry Position

The company actively seeks information and input from inside and outside its sector to benchmark excellent performance in all processes at all levels. It can identify its industry position and, through this understanding, measure how well it performs against a Class A Standard.

c. Stakeholder Goals

The major stakeholders in the company are identified, and their short-, medium-, and long-term goals are understood. The company has a balanced view of goals and targets, which are reflected in its driving and supporting roadmaps.

d. Market Analysis

Investigation and analysis is carried out to understand the company's markets, its competitors' activity, and the value of its opportunities. This includes geographic focus, consumer and customer demands, economic trends, national and international policies and regulations, etc.

e. Products and Services Portfolio

The Products and Services Portfolio is examined to ensure the voice of the customer and consumer are fully reflected in the product strategy. Life-cycle trends identify when portfolio changes are required. The potential of competitor actions, technology developments, and the marketplace are understood and incorporated.

2. Internal and External Information is Analyzed Using Appropriate Tools to Identify and Prioritize Opportunities and Challenges for the Success of the Business.

a. Information Analysis

Information is analyzed to determine the future challenges that need to be included in the refreshed Strategic Plan. Potential breakthrough areas for technical and nontechnical innovation are sought and identified for the company to differentiate from its competitors.

b. Analytical Tools

Analytical tools are used to model business trends and opportunities and to understand how the company should respond to current and future market needs.

c. Prioritization

Opportunities and challenges to meet the business strategy are prioritized using established filter criteria. The potential risk to the business from each opportunity is understood.

Vision, Mission, and Values

3. Vision and Mission Statements Exist, Representing the Ambitions of the Company (Or Business Unit) and Its Stakeholders.

a. Top Down, Team Based

The company Vision, Mission, and Strategic Plan reflect a horizon appropriate to the business. They are initiated and agreed by the Chief Executive Officer, the company Leadership Team, functional heads, and other key players. They are clearly communicated, understood, and supported by all.

b. The Vision Statement

The Vision Statement is inspiring and memorable and summarizes concisely what the company wants to become in its marketplace and community. The Vision for the business is widely communicated in a succinct, consistent, and repeatable way with opportunity for enhancement and feedback.

c. The Expanded Vision Statement

The Expanded Vision Stat...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Series Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Preface
• Introduction
• Foundation
• Chapter 1: Managing the Strategic Planning Process
• Chapter 2: Managing and Leading People
• Chapter 3: Driving Business Improvement
• Chapter 4: Integrated Business Planning
• Chapter 5: Managing the Products and Services Portfolio
• Chapter 6: Managing Market Demand
• Chapter 7: Managing the Supply Chain
• Chapter 8: Managing Internal Supply
• Chapter 9: Managing External Sourcing
• Oliver Wight Biography
• End User License Agreement