Who sets strategy at your firm? Is it someone’s specific role, or everyone’s?
McKinsey assembled six chief strategy officers at large corporations and had them talk about what exactly they do. The first comment immediately noted that the “true chief strategist” is in fact the CEO. So what, then, does a CSO do?
Annabel Spring, head of strategy and execution at Morgan Stanley, defined the CSO’s role as
to get feedback from the business units, overlay the global trends, and make sure that everybody has identified the right issues. We then prioritize the opportunities across the business units and provide a strategic element for that prioritization. Feedback from the business units is also critical for maintaining that entrepreneurial edge.
Stuart Grief, vice president of strategy and business development at Textron, said
it’s our job to explore the facts and alternatives around an issue. We make sure CEOs have a clear understanding of the implications of various choices so that they can make informed decisions.
In fact, it seems like the chief strategist sucks a piece out of the brain of each business unit head and uses that to talk about trends. But that would seem to be less a job within the corporation and more the kind of thing you’d keep on retainer and bring in to zap the staff with fresh ideas, the way professional futurists seem to work now.
Here’s a link to the McKinsey piece (registration required): How Chief Strategy Officers Think About their Role
Feel free to fill me in on the importance of a separate person dedicated to strategy.
