Legend has it that companies used to spend weeks, months, and sometimes longer tied up in lengthy strategic planning cycles in order to develop a ‘strategic plan’.  At best, expensive resources are tied up with planning activities and are distanced from the business; at worst, the planning process seems to evolve into an ever-lasting series of meetings and plan ‘re-drafts’ that never quite make it into a final form.

We believe that strategic planning is an important process and practice, and that it must be executed swiftly throughout the organization so that more time and energy can be placed upon the execution of the strategy.

Synthesis strategy consultants are seasoned strategy practitioners who have practical management experience and industry and domain expertise.  They follow a standard strategy management process, which is designed to capture the essence of the strategy of the organization, and then distill it into an operational strategy and set of corresponding plans so that there is a direct link between strategy and execution.

Our strategy management methodology has a wide scope in that we look at both internal and external factors that influence and shape the organization in various ways.

Synthesis understands: 

• the ‘global platform’ -- we have experience with addressing country-specific issues such as how macro-economic, political, social, and local business culture influence a business strategy;

• that strategy transcends the organization, from the enterprise level to the ‘people’ level and every step in between;

• that there is a conceptual or abstract side to strategy in as much as there is a practical or concrete side to it as well;
   

• how markets, products, and customers need to be segmented in order to execute ‘mini strategies’ that align with the enterprise strategy;

• that innovation is a critical element to a company’s strategy and should be considered across all functional and organizational areas;

• that the strategic plan needs to be decomposed into operational strategies and plans;

• that strategic initiatives need to be defined and that their corresponding link to the strategy and value drivers need to be connected; and,

• that all functional and organization areas need to be in full alignment with the overarching enterprise strategy.

We can help your organization develop an enterprise strategy that encapsulates these elements into a cohesive whole.

Our methodology is adaptive to different business cultures.  We have the ability to execute strategic planning from the top-down and from the bottom-up.  We also have experience with creating a collaborative strategy formulation process environment whereby top-down and bottom-up views converge near the center, where the entire organization plays some role in contributing to the enterprise strategy.

Our greatest strengths are our methodology, our senior consultants, and the tools we use to automate the enterprise strategy formulation process.

Another great strength is our ability to transition from a strategy mode to an operational mode of engagement.  More often than not, the strategy outcome impacts business processes, the enterprise architecture, organization design, culture, and enterprise behaviour.  Our full suite of enterprise excellence consulting services is designed to be fully integrated and aligned.  Go figure.