“Weekly Picks” (June 10th)

Here are our weekly picks of articles on Strategy Execution for the week ending Thursday, June 10th. Enjoy!

MANAGEMENT INNOVATION

The Global Applicability of Rendanheyi by Lina_HMI (Lina_HMI – Medium)

With a keen interest in self-organizing management, I always like reading about the Rendanheyi model. This very short post explores Haier’s use of MEs (microenterprises) organized around its customers. The ME has “three essential rights: the right to make decisions, the right to hire talent, and the right to distribute compensation”. Some day in the future, I’d like to experience being part of an organization using this organizing model, or something comparable.


STRATEGIC CLARITY

Measure Value Behaviors And Value Outcomes To Drive Customer Obsession by Maxie Schmidt (Forrester)

This is a 1-minute read that caught my eye. It applies metrics to “the value we provide to” and “the value we receive from” our customers. This definitive customer orientation, and the measurement thereof, undergirds the positive and generative long-term customer relationship that propels the best of companies. The article is worth skimming – and, then, considering how it applies to your work.


PREPARED MINDS

How the developer of a $1.4 billion real estate project plans to track its lofty goals by Nate Berg (Fast Company)

Appreciate the fact that, Dream, the developer behind a revitalization project (called Zibi) in downton Ottawa, has published a performance scorecard to track this development project. The scorecard freely shares progress against the promises that the company touted that the project would deliver (both financial and non-financial impacts). Exciting to see this level of transparency between a developer and the public. This should be an example to all of us who do project work.


CULTURAL COHESION

The Real Value of Middle Managers by Zahira Jaser (Harvard Business Review)

Good article on the merits of middle managers in hierarchal organizations. I was struck by the definition of the four different types of value that middle managers provide as they bridge the gap between top executives and line workers. I’ve seen people get worn out playing the “Janus” role! I suspect that we should be mainly focused on doing away with strictly hierarchal models, but, in the meantime, I want to encourage all of you who are middle managers!


RESOURCE FLUIDITY

Growth for Both: How US Brands and Retailers Grow the Profit Pool for All by Brian McRoskey and Karl Zimmermann (Bain & Company)

Having worked as a facilitator of cross-boundary collaborations focused on solving complex problems, I found this article on joint planning between CPG companies and retailers as a super fun read. The article explores the benefits, the barriers, and the key practices to succeed in this joint work.


ENABLING TECHNOLOGY

A new framing for cloud innovation by Lars Cromley, Diana Kearns-Manolatos, David Linthicum, and Mike Bechtel (Deloitte.)

Very interesting article about the different approaches to leverage the merits of cloud computing. It’s amazing to see how quickly companies can respond to a changing environment with the plug-and-play use of cloud applications. The article explores four approaches to cloud architecture – each delivering different benefits and constraints. I appreciated the nuance of the comparison, as I had never thought through it at this level of detail.

About George Veth

George Veth is a consultant in the areas of strategy execution and initiative management. Most recently, he has been leading a cross-boundary collaboration program with teams from cities across North America and Europe. He lives in Cambridge, MA, and runs a nonprofit SME Impact Fund in East Africa. His subject matter interests are organizational culture, management [system] innovation, and public value management.