No matter whether you are in the middle or at the end of the fiscal year: In any case, June is a good time to review and, if necessary, reconsider your own corporate strategy. After all, the quieter summer time with holidays and vacations is coming up and in these weeks many people have time and the desire to take a new look at the status quo and to gain new insights. Hopefully you do too.
Where will the journey lead? A strategic orientation that is gaining importance for all sectors and areas is sustainability. An important question is therefore: What can sustainability mean for your company? Is it an aspect of the strategy, or can sustainability itself be a strategy?
For example, a strategy can work towards making life more pleasant and safer, and not just through financial results. Some companies therefore develop visions and strategies that paint wonderful images of the future. This appeals to us, at least more than visions that are so abstract that they can hardly be visualized. American companies like to work with superlatives and dreams. People like to dedicate themselves to such goals, because it is more appealing to work together to make our world a better place for all of us than to help a company become the number one or number two in a specific industry through economic success. It has been scientifically proven that people enjoy pursuing goals that appeal beyond the mind. If a company offers such a goal, its employees will be particularly motivated to achieve it. That is why the definition of a good vision and strategy is so important. It shows everyone the respective direction. And it clearly defines what makes the company unique.
But we were actually talking about sustainability: It plays a major role not only for the younger generations. Even years ago, people used to take to the streets to demonstrate against environmental pollution or to boycott child labour. However, the topics covered by the term “sustainability” are now much more far-reaching. In the future, clean drinking water will be the most valuable substance because it is the scarcest. However, data security for the protection of personal dignity is also an aspect of sustainability. Yes, there are now stricter laws on this subject, for example the EU Data Protection Ordinance. How do you deal with automation and digitization in a sustainable way? What does the younger generation think about it?
I recently attended an event where a speaker just superficially dealt with the Generation Y and claimed that this generation had no goals. This was met with particular disagreement, as it is precisely this generation that pursues goals and strategies, for example by questioning many of the things that have been customary up to now. While older generations generally used to think that our leaders will surely know what they are doing, so I will follow the strategy, as long as it does not clearly violate morality and decency, the young generation questions many ideas and goals. This development is strenuous for established companies because it is unusual, but it offers many opportunities. For example, for contemporary strategies and visions that show a real advantage in terms of differentiation. At best, they can make our world a little better. If you are looking for unusual impulses when defining your strategy, please contact me!
Leave a Reply