Welcome to the first Pango blog post. Since we are a business consultancy based on building strategies, action plans and delivering outcomes based on business alignment, we thought it might make sense to start there.
Business alignment can mean all sorts of things depending on the academic principle being put forward. So, what do we mean by business alignment? For us, alignment has three important components. Internal (BOD, Executive team, senior managers, employees), external (customers/partners) and finally your market infrastructure (industry press, consultants, competitors, thought leaders).
Internal alignment starts with making sure that the top managers in the company are all on the same page. If executive team members have different views of what the organization is and what it aspires to be, it will be challenging to develop and communicate an effective positioning strategy, let alone KPIs.
You say that your executive team is in lockstep. No issues here. Even if that is true, you need to ensure that the next management tier and mid level employees and junior staff all are in synch. I’ll digress here for a moment and tell you that I have never worked with an executive team that was 100% in lock step. You would be surprised to see the number of varied answers that an executive team will give to a simple question like “what business are you in?”
Finding alignment with your external constituencies is just as important as internal alignment, if not more. In fact, external perceptions and the needs of your customers, partners and industry participants should significantly influence your internal focus and strategies. It is critical to ensure that your organization's strengths are aligned with the needs of your marketplace.
Alignment needs to be measured, cultivated and monitored. Once you nail alignment, you set the stage to gain more clarity around your business goals. This will make it easier to build strategic plans that make everything from growth initiatives and partnerships and even mergers and divestitures easier to execute.
Business alignment is making sure that all of the elements of your organization are in tune with each other. PANGO Engagements often begin with a Strategic Alignment Scan developed with input from various stakeholders inside and outside of your enterprise. The scan benchmarks how effectively your organization is aligned across multiple constituencies. The resulting analysis identifies challenges and opportunities for improvement that can be applied across several dimensions including strategic positioning, communications, organizational dynamics, organic growth and M&A initiatives.
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