BLOG ON INNOVATION AND TRANSFORMATION

Tools and strategies to innovate, solve complex issues, and transform businesses

Strategic questioning to unlock growth
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Strategic questioning to unlock growth

I facilitate a lot of strategy sessions and one thing that I observed is that in 99.9% of cases, strategic objectives are about growth. So, you would think that everyone is clear by now on all the different ways an organisation can unlock growth. Well, it’s not been my experience.

In this blogpost I want to highlight the key strategic questions and steps that will guide you towards creating a growth plan that makes growth objectives explicit, and more importantly clarifies where growth will come.

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Is the tide turning on Zara and fast fashion?
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Is the tide turning on Zara and fast fashion?

A recent heated conversation about Zara reminded me of the inflection point concept that Rita McGrath introduces in her book titled Seeing Around Corners.

In this blogpost I highlight three characteristics of inflection points that every leader should be aware of to help their organisation navigate them.

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Four strategic shifts to achieve both growth and sustainability targets
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Four strategic shifts to achieve both growth and sustainability targets

For a long time, growth and sustainability seemed like obvious opposites, with efforts in one negatively impacting the other. But this is now changing rapidly.

In this blogpost I examine 4 strategic questions every leader should explore to achieve both growth and sustainability targets in the years ahead.

How can organisations…

  1. differentiate products and services through sustainability?

  2. decarbonise a Business Model?

  3. explore new green business ideas?

  4. re-balance their business portfolio towards a more sustainable portfolio?

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Innovation requires deep alignment of executives and the board
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

Innovation requires deep alignment of executives and the board

Creating a sustainable innovation capability in an organisation is big endeavour that requires strong leadership vision, a vision truly understood and endorsed by the board.

In the last few years, I have developed an approach that helps executives and directors better understand disruption risks and strategic opportunities, requirements for exploration of those opportunities, and their respective roles to design and execute corporate innovation.

In this blogpost, I will focus on key questions that usually best contribute to shifting directors’ perspective on risk management and innovation, and ultimately create enthusiasm to have innovation added to the agenda of the board.

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How to truly help leaders with visioning work?
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

How to truly help leaders with visioning work?

The ability to go beyond an existing business model, to transcend current industry boundaries, or to connect to a higher purpose that we’ve seen in some organisations all started with a new vision. But this doesn’t happen that often.

In this blogpost I want to summarise key convictions on how to truly help business leaders free themselves from the daily grind and come up with positive visions for their companies.

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What the latest IPCC report changes to your strategic process
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

What the latest IPCC report changes to your strategic process

Findings in the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report published at the end of February 2022 show that climate breakdown is happening faster than expected. The report insists on the potential dire consequences of inaction for human beings and businesses.

In this article I want to highlight how this impacts strategic planning as “climate change” could quickly become the main threat to deal with for any organisation, and its biggest opportunity at the same time.

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The road from Tackers to Thinkers50
Frederic Etiemble Frederic Etiemble

The road from Tackers to Thinkers50

I learnt recently that Alex, Yves, Alan and myself have been shortlisted for the 2021 Strategy Award for our work on The Invincible Company.

I wish I could say that I had never hoped for such recognition… but that would not be entirely true!

In this blogpost I want to tell the story of my 5-year journey from Tackers 2016 to Thinkers50 and express gratitude to the exceptional people in my life who helped me along the way.

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