It has now become increasingly clear that the traditional business operating model is no longer fit for its purpose. Businesses can not afford to be complacent anymore. Incremental optimisation is no longer an option.

We now live in an increasingly turbulent business environment world over which now require a new approach to doing business. This new environment is characterised by disruptions. It is transforming and disrupting the business landscape for companies and those that are failing to adapt are dying in their numbers. Some of the corporate leaders are yet to awaken to this new development not only in Zimbabwe but globally.

Addressing this highly uncertain environment requires disruptive thinking, a willingness to change and a rejection of some tried and tested ways of creating value.

Winning in the brand new order requires businesses to make far reaching changes to their models. In addition, there are specific issues each business operating in this kind of an environment has to grapple with.

This include engagement with different stakeholders with diverse interests, addressing consumers whose demands are ever increasing on a daily basis and are now controlling the dialogue in the market place and the need to have a different approach to brand management among other factors.

This complex environment coupled with the accelerating pace of change is placing ever greater demands on business leaders in terms of having the relevant skills necessary to succeed in this new environment. Sadly, the processes to develop the next generation of top executives have not kept pace with this changing environment. We still have the traditional type of executives who believe that they have monopoly over knowledge and have their beliefs deeply rooted in command and control culture in some of our companies in Zimbabwe instead of shared responsibility leadership. The skills and competencies required by corporate leaders are definitely changing.

It is important for businesses to put in place effective talent management processes that will enable them to address future business challenges. Executives responsible for human capital, have to take this assignment seriously, if their businesses are to survive in this highly competitive and complex environment.

It therefore follows that rethinking leadership development programs to ensure that they are equipping future business leaders with the right skills, experience and mindset becomes paramount.

There is need to assess regularly the next generation of business leaders to ensure that there is good bench strength in place. This refers to the ability of an organisation to have good replacements for leaders resigning or retiring.

One way of developing these future corporate leaders would be through encouragement of movement between functions to develop increased diversity of thinking and taking a long term approach to developing the next generation of leaders.

It is also important for businesses to provide greater autonomy to their managers but within a clear framework so that decisions take place within certain parameters and are aligned with long-term vision of the company. Highly centralised decision making models will not be effective in the brand new order.

This approach to human capital management is very crucial because future success will depend on companies challenging accepted ways of thinking and adopting a highly disruptive approach to managing every aspect of their business. It should be noted that successful execution of strategy will be highly depended on talent which in most organisations, remains the significant barrier to executing strategy.

Winning in the brand new order will require more than just incremental improvements as already stated before. It will demand new ways of thinking and disruptive approaches. Business leaders will have to take value creation to the most granular level across their organisation in order to succeed.

There are three critical areas business leaders have to focus on if they are to succeed in this disruptive and complex environment.

These areas include: Reframing strategic choices, Realignment of the business value chain and Ruthless execution to capture value.

With reference to reframing strategic choices, it is important for business leaders to note that significant changes are needed to sustain historical margins. Unprecedented complexity and dynamic change are forcing companies to disrupt themselves. You have to consistently challenge your own business model lest your competitor nullifies your existence through a disruptive business model.

Corporate leaders have always faced difficult decisions, but in the current environment, these choices have become even more complex and multidimensional. Strategies that worked consistently in the past are no longer reliable. Markets that have shown growth for decades are under threat. Furthermore, customers who have always been dependable are evolving beyond recognition. The business has to keep pace with the changing customer needs.

This means that managing in such environments requires companies to shed legacy ways of thinking and embrace disruptive solutions. The business environment continues to be very challenging for most business leaders who have been used to working under stable and predictable conditions.

It is very challenging to set long term strategy against a backdrop of extreme volatility. On one hand business leaders have to determine a long term vision and purpose for the company that serves as the guiding compass for business decision making while at the same time, they must be able to react to sudden shifts in the business environment that may render strategic choices less relevant than they were in the past. Business leaders now have to deal with environments that are more volatile and less predictable and managing in this kind of an environment requires the tenacity to stick to long term goals and the flexibility to adapt to a changing environment.

Resolving these paradoxes lies at the heart of strategic decision making. In this dynamic environment, companies must consider how multiple variables of change might affect the decisions that business leaders make. 

Deciding how and where to compete and where to focus in order to create the most value is increasingly difficult. Given the scale of complexity and change in the external environment, incremental shifts are unlikely to be enough. Instead, companies need to revisit their entire operating model and strategy to determine whether it remains fit for purpose in this brand new order.

While you can’t predict the future, you can certainly prepare for it. An essential part of this preparation is the long term vision and purpose that unites the entire workforce behind a set of common goals and provides a clear framework to enable consistency of decision making.

In a world where disruptive change is key to survival, having a long term vision provides the necessary consistency so that the organisation understands long term goals. Without a long term vision, constant disruptive change can appear unplanned or destabilizing and that can breed cynicism among the employees and change fatigue. However if there is a clear long term vision and an understanding of the need for disruption then employees will be more likely to accept it.

The other pillar that business leaders have to focus on in this environment, is the realignment of the value chain. As part of the brand new order, businesses are no longer in control of their brand. The days when marketing managers could pinpoint a brand’s product positioning using series of carefully targeted television and radio advertisements are over. While companies must continue to seek to determine the positioning of their brands, they must be willing to adapt their messaging based on customer reaction. Today as a result of the rise of social media, the way messages are received and subsequently perceived by consumers is far harder to control.

Marketers have to continuously monitor how their customers are engaging with their brand and based on these reactions adapt their messaging across all media. Social media outlets offer instant feedback when consumers express their approval, displeasure with the brand. The collective power of these channels give consumers much greater influence over brand decisions than was possible in the past. This can be very advantageous to those companies able to leverage engaged customers as brand ambassadors and contributors to product development. However social media can also be very dangerous as problems can be magnified and go viral quickly.

The final pillar is ruthless execution of strategy. This is very important and will determine the success or failure of a business. Meeting the needs of uncompromising stakeholders against a backdrop of proliferating channels, rising costs and constant change requires a laser like focus execution.

With competition becoming more acute, the difference between success and failure frequently comes down to how a company implements its strategic vision. Business leaders must make sure that strategy and implementation are completely aligned, establishing resources that will enable strong performance to be delivered consistently.

Companies need an operating model that will support agility, a ruthless approach to costs and a strong focus on continuous improvement so that the organisation is constantly learning and evolving.

A good strategy executed in a great way is more effective than a great strategy executed in a good way. Great execution starts with a clear strategy that is communicated consistently across the organisation. It also depends on having the right people in the right roles, rigorous control frameworks and robust performance management processes so that decisions are aligned with company’s overall goals. Execution is the only strategy that the customer and competitor see and it starts with strategy, systems and culture and if you get those right, that will go a long way towards helping with your execution.

In the disruptive environment that is the brand new order, disrupting entrenched ways of thinking, making the right strategic choices and ruthlessly executing strategy, are critical to create value for the customers, capture value for the company and deliver value for shareholders.