Sleeping Barber - A Marketing Podcast SBP 31: When to Change Your Strategy, With Jennifer Riel
In today's episode, we're joined by Jennifer Riel, Head of Global Strategy at IDEO. We dig deep into the importance of continual learning, the discipline required to make great choices, and the crucial lens for strategic monitoring while underlining the limited value of relying solely on historical data.
Jennifer also highlights the issue of investors' short-term obsession, how to diagnose bad strategy and the significance of annual strategic planning. Using the BlackBerry case study, we examine strategic decision-making during crises and the indicators signalling a need for strategic shifts. The episode wraps with an in-depth discussion on talent strategy in today's hybrid work culture and the age-old question: is a poor strategy, if well executed, preferable? Stay tuned for a lively Pod-pod session with V and Marc to reflect on these insights and more.
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Our Guest: Follow Jennifer Riel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferriel/
IDEO Profile: https://www.ideo.com/people/jennifer-riel
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Literature
Creating Great Choices: https://www.amazon.ca/Creating-Great-Choices-Integrative-Thinking/dp/1633692965/
IDEO Shopping Cart: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M66ZU2PCIcM&t=95s
HBR: When to Switch Strategy: https://hbr.org/2021/02/when-to-switch-strategy-in-a-crisis
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy Summary: https://jlzych.com/2018/06/27/notes-from-good-strategy-bad-strategy/
How to evaluate corporate strategy: https://hbr.org/1963/07/how-to-evaluate-corporate-strategy
Blue Ocean Strategy v. Playing To Win: https://rogermartin.medium.com/blue-ocean-strategy-playing-to-win-f0efb83cc608
Design Thinking V. Playing to Win: https://rogermartin.medium.com/strategy-design-thinking-faf6b787160b
____________ The Sleeping Barber Podcast: Follow our updates here: https://www.linkedin.com/company/sleeping-barber/ Get in touch with our hosts: Marc Binkley: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marcbinkley/ Vassilis Douros: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vassilisdouros/ ___________ Timestamps:
- 0:53 - Introduction to Jennifer Riel - Head of Global Strategy at IDEO
- 2:05 - Who is IDEO, what is design thinking and how does it fit with strategy?
- 8:42 - The power of testing and learning
- 10:05 - Three disciplines making great choices: Design, Integrative Thinking, Strategy
- 13:45 - The 4 “always on” lenses for monitoring your strategy
- 20:15 - Why historical data isn’t enough to monitor your strategy
- 23:55 - How to change investor obsession with short term results
- 26:58 - What is strategy and how it fits with Design Thinking
- 31:13 - How to diagnose bad strategy
- 35:19 - Why annual strategic planning is important
- 39:11 - How to make strategic choices during a crisis a BlackBerry case study
- 43:55 - When should you change strategic direction
- 46:30 - Early warning indicators to help signal strategic changes
- 51:30 - Strategic pivots in response to temporary vs. permanent change
- 55:26 - Rethinking your talent strategy: choosing hybrid, WFH, reorg and lay offs
- 59:14 - Is it really better to have a poor strategy, well executed?
- 1:01:55 - Pod-pod with V and Marc
____________ Where to listen Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sleeping-barber-podcast/id1609811324 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4v0kaM350zEY7X2VBuyfrF Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy84MWVjYWJhNC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@sleepingbarberpodcast