Tag Archives: Scenario planning

Overcoming Strategic Gaps–an Optics Design Case

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Optics Photo 2015By Denise Harrison, President, Strategic Planning & Execution, Spex, Inc.

 Would integrated circuits be constrained by what could physically fit on a chip? Heat and size issues were becoming constraints to what was possible with traditional technology. Synopsys, a world leader in software and IP for semiconductor design and verification manufacturing, saw that its customers’ applications required more and more functionality in ever-decreasing size and understood that traditional technology would no longer fit the bill. They observed that recent breakthroughs in the optics world would enable more functionality on chips, using light and lasers rather than traditional wiring.

But how could Synopsys develop a core competency in this area? The team at Synopsys knew there was significant “know-how” being developed in this area that would be important to providing the solutions for which their customers were looking. In order to find the leading scientists in optics they searched patents and found that one name appeared again and again, Optical Research Associates. The folks at Optical Research not only understood the technology, but were continuing to develop breakthroughs in this area of optics design and engineering. Synopsys saw that a partnership with Optical Research Associates would be beneficial to their future success and embarked on a successful acquisition campaign. Now Optical Research (renamed Synopsys Optical Solutions) is a business unit within Synopsys and this important technology is enabling Synopsys to meet its customers’ goal of developing continually smaller chips while increasing the functionality.

Lessons Learned:

1. Have a clear vision of where you want to go and what your company needs to look like in order to be successful in the future.
2. Develop the list of characteristics that will be needed to achieve that future vision.
3. Understand which of these characteristics you have and which you need to develop. Don’t pretend you are better than you are with regard to the characteristics required for success.
4. Decide whether to make or buy the skills required. Developing the skills will take time, but acquisitions often do not deliver as expected.
5. Develop a plan to acquire/develop the skills.
6. Monitor to make sure you stay on track.

Understanding where you want to go and what gaps you have to fill to get there are important parts of strategic planning. Without a clear vision of the future, companies often flounder and try to go after too many choices. With a clear vision of the future, your team will understand the 2-3 important gaps that you need to work on in order reach the desired end-state. Trying to be everything to everybody will not allow you to truly be successful in the few areas that will make a difference.

If you would like to discuss ways to enhance your strategic planning efforts please call: Denise Harrison, 910-763-5194; harrison@thestratplan

©Spex, Inc. Wilimington, NC, 2015

The Importance of Scenarios when Dealing with Uncertainty

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Denise Harrison                                                                                                                       President, Strategic Planning and Execution, Spex, Inc. 

How can we better deal with uncertainty when we develop our strategic plan? Many strategic planning teams struggle with this issue. While it is important to understand what you know as facts and what your assumptions for the future are, I have found that some good scenario planning helps a team prepare for a wider range of possibilities that might occur in the future. By looking at different scenarios, the team can assess what will work in each scenario and then select the approach that will benefit the company in the most likely scenario, but still balance that approach by not closing out options that will work if another scenario unfolds.

Generating Different Scenarios

Some teams generate a probable scenario and then move to generate an upside and downside. For example, the probable scenario is that we achieve 10% growth and the upside is 12.5% and downside in 8%. While this works, I find that high performing teams that discuss actual events/trends and then develop scenarios corresponding to possible outcomes, is a better way of generating scenarios. Some examples of trends and events include:

  1. Product launch is delayed by 12 months.
  2. Oil prices plummet and stay down longer than our probable scenario (this could be good or bad depending on what your company does and who your customers are).
  3. Acquisition has unexpected fall-out and customers leave and go to competitors.
  4. Customers’ preferences change faster than we anticipate (Blackberry).

You should have your team members come up with ideas for different scenarios. Generate what these environments will look like out 5-10 years. Ask the question: What will we need to do to be successful if this is the competitive landscape? You will notice before you start working, that several of the outcomes will have similar results. Select scenarios that will generate different actions.

Once you have generated different “success” strategies, then evaluate which scenario is most probable, and then look to see what you can do to accommodate other “success” strategies so that you maintain your flexibility moving forward.   While you may not be able to keep all options open, you may be able to keep some avenues open until time passes and you have a better view of what the future has in store for your company.

Another benefit of this exercise is it allows the team to think more broadly and be more aware of the external factors that impact your business. This will help the team deal with the changes that will inevitably happen during the planning horizon. As you start to see movement that makes another scenario unfold, bring the team back together and recast your strategy. If you anticipate this movement faster than your competition, it will help position your company to gain market share or weather an industry downturn better than your competitors.

If you are interested in discussion more about how to generate scenarios that will enhance your team’s flexibility please give me a call at: 910-763-5194 or email me at harrison@thestratplan.com.

(c) 2015 Spex, Inc. Strategic Planning and Execution