Strategy
Strategy sounds like a relatively simple concept: these are our goals, and this is how we’re going to achieve them. But that also makes the concept incredibly broad; it encompasses the very raison d’être of the organization. Strategy involves leadership, innovation, implementation, and transformation—everything the company needs to achieve its goals and elevate itself to the next level.
A good strategy almost always involves innovation. When implementing a modern strategy, there is a great deal of innovation required along the journey of executing the strategy to actually achieve the strategy’s goal (for example: doubling revenue or global dominance). It all sounds abstract, and it is, so let’s make it concrete. Just think of an internet platform like Facebook. If this company were to adopt a new strategy, you know that this would lead to dozens, if not hundreds, of adjustments and innovations for the platform and the website. Innovations are then the solutions that haven’t been thought of yet. How different, by the way, innovation used to be. Back then, you came up with a product or a service, and you also immediately figured out how that product or service would come about. From A to Z, it was a well-thought-out process.These days, it’s all about trial and error. Does that apply to strategies as well? In any case, when it comes to (new) business development—often the most adventurous aspect of a strategy—failure has become acceptable. That is, if failure means you can use that setback as a springboard to move forward. Because when it comes to strategies, the times are unforgiving. Organizations that lack a sound strategy and corresponding plan risk being quickly overtaken by competitors, old or new. There must be room for experimentation in this era, which is socially brimming with innovation. But time is always limited—especially since competitors are also feverishly trying to innovate. The goal these days is almost always to achieve a digital transformation or a digital transition.
Disruptive innovation
Due to the rise of digitalization, strategies sometimes evolve into concepts so radically different that they have the potential to disrupt entire sectors. This is called disruption, serving as the starting point for changing value chains. Disruptive innovations are increasingly forcing companies to increase and then maintain their agility. Agile organizations respond more easily and quickly to trends and developments in the market. It is clear that digitalization is almost always at the core of a new strategy. Whether it involves the use of GenAI or cloud computing, which has given remote work a massive boost since COVID-19 and changed offices and HR processes forever.
Mission and vision
Moreover, consumers increasingly expect companies and other organizations to have a compelling narrative: one that addresses the environment, climate, international stakeholders, and their own employees. Focusing on social impact is the overarching theme, as Management Scope has also identified it as a key theme alongside diversity. Impact often boils down to sustainability, but socially acceptable policies—the so-called “S” in ESG (environmental, social, and governance)—are becoming an increasingly important focus for organizations.
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Wouter van Benten (DHL): ‘I am a tech optimist’
How can organizations survive in the digital age? This question is explored in depth in a series of articles in Management Scope by Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse of A&O Shearman. This time, they interview Wouter van Benten, CEO of DHL eCommerce, about his digital journey, about speed – ‘we were moving so fast that we had to fight quite a few battles with head office to get our way and keep going’ – about choices that differed from those of the competition, and about what will be needed for the next ten years.
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On the fiftieth anniversary of executive search firm De Vroedt & Thierry, Management Scope’s newest knowledge partner, managing partner Ralf Knegtmans looks back on the far-reaching changes that have radically transformed his profession. He also looks ahead. AI is becoming increasingly important and will be able to take over large parts of the search process in the future. ‘But as the trait d’union between client and candidate, we remain indispensable.’
The labor market is about to undergo a transformation that is deeper and more fundamental than many organizations realize. AI is about to redefine the nature of work, turning the world upside down. This calls for urgent action, including in the boardroom. That is why it is time for a new tool: the workforce budget, argue Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse.
Ralf Knegtmans (De Vroedt & Thierry) on fifty years in executive search
On the fiftieth anniversary of executive search firm De Vroedt & Thierry, Management Scope’s newest knowledge partner, managing partner Ralf Knegtmans looks back on the far-reaching changes that have radically transformed his profession. He also looks ahead. AI is becoming increasingly important and will be able to take over large parts of the search process in the future. ‘But as the trait d’union between client and candidate, we remain indispensable.’
A workforce budget for every organization
The labor market is about to undergo a transformation that is deeper and more fundamental than many organizations realize. AI is about to redefine the nature of work, turning the world upside down. This calls for urgent action, including in the boardroom. That is why it is time for a new tool: the workforce budget, argue Hilde van der Baan and Gijs Linse.
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SeederDeBoer, the new knowledge partner of Management Scope, aims to become the leading organizational consultancy for complex change processes in large Dutch organizations. Partner Lotte Hart discusses her and her colleagues’ unconventional approach, with the common thread being the extent to which people embrace change. ‘Often, there is a problem behind the problem and a question behind the question. If you succeed in clarifying that together, you can avoid a lot of hassle and disappointment during the process.’
Tough choices and substantial investments are needed to prevent falling further behind economically; the urgency of the Wennink report is undeniable. To ensure the success of plans for future prosperity, it is now important to design a solid financing chain and involve investors, write Tjarda Molenaar and Juul Vaandrager of the Dutch Association of Private Equity Firms.
Managers must be open to the fact that their organization will change no matter what, according to computer science professor Hajo Reijers. The future of work and entrepreneurship requires a broad perspective, hybrid technological landscapes, and above all, flexibility. ‘You have to dare to say goodbye to fixed structures and experiment with new structures that allow you to quickly respond to those changes.’
Lotte Hart (SeederDeBoer): ‘The human side is crucial’
SeederDeBoer, the new knowledge partner of Management Scope, aims to become the leading organizational consultancy for complex change processes in large Dutch organizations. Partner Lotte Hart discusses her and her colleagues’ unconventional approach, with the common thread being the extent to which people embrace change. ‘Often, there is a problem behind the problem and a question behind the question. If you succeed in clarifying that together, you can avoid a lot of hassle and disappointment during the process.’
How Wennink's vision can become a workable strategy
Tough choices and substantial investments are needed to prevent falling further behind economically; the urgency of the Wennink report is undeniable. To ensure the success of plans for future prosperity, it is now important to design a solid financing chain and involve investors, write Tjarda Molenaar and Juul Vaandrager of the Dutch Association of Private Equity Firms.
‘Organizations need to significantly increase their focus on flexibility’
Managers must be open to the fact that their organization will change no matter what, according to computer science professor Hajo Reijers. The future of work and entrepreneurship requires a broad perspective, hybrid technological landscapes, and above all, flexibility. ‘You have to dare to say goodbye to fixed structures and experiment with new structures that allow you to quickly respond to those changes.’
Daniele Tonella (ING): ‘Innovation is also about behavior and governance’
As chief technology officer and member of the management board banking at ING Bank, Daniele Tonella is responsible for the bank's entire IT landscape, with its nearly twenty thousand employees. His mandate covers everything within the organization ‘that contains a chip or line of code’, as he puts it. Tonella discusses his concerns about knowledge development and how technology and organizational development are becoming increasingly intertwined. ‘ING's digital transformation is more a challenge in terms of organization, culture, and governance than a technology issue.’
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Farewell Interview Martin van den Brink and Peter Wennink: ‘ASML Remains a Very Dutch Company’
The legendary leaders of semiconductor equipment manufacturer ASML, are retiring. A very good reason to engage in an exclusive conversation with the co-presidents Martin van den Brink and Peter Wennink on everything that contributed to their evolution into a global player.
Carsten Bittner (ABN Amro): ‘Do As The Dutch Do’
The German CI&TO (Chief Information and Technology officer) of ABN AMRO needs to take cognizance of the differences between the Dutch and German cultures. His observation is that these are not that significant. ‘Nuances do exist, of course, and, as a director, it is important to take heed of these.’
Critical infrastructure: ‘A little more of that can-do mentality, and it will be possible’
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Leadership in the digital age
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Invest in a people-centric digital work environment
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Maarten Camps (UWV): ‘A different mindset is needed’
Kaya de Lange (BeFrank): ‘A leader needs both reason and intuition’
Siete Hamminga and Guus Verhees on Robin Radar's scale-up journey
Rutger van der Leeuw (Enexis): ‘More copper in the ground is not the solution’
Change rarely fails at the drawing board, but often falls apart in practice, because leaders place themselves outside of the change process. They think that change is something the organization has to do, not them. However, without the involvement and ownership of leaders, even the best-developed strategy will not come to life, observes Eva den Hartog of Boer & Croon.
We are at a crossroads in history. On the one hand, we face a world of chaos, where democracies collapse, nature succumbs, and inequality tears societies apart. On the other, we can embrace a future that can be brighter than anything we know now. Which direction we take depends on the choices we make today, according to associate professor of transformative imagination, Joost Vervoort. The role of companies and their executives in this cannot be overstated.
Effective change needs leaders on center stage
Change rarely fails at the drawing board, but often falls apart in practice, because leaders place themselves outside of the change process. They think that change is something the organization has to do, not them. However, without the involvement and ownership of leaders, even the best-developed strategy will not come to life, observes Eva den Hartog of Boer & Croon.
Why moral imagination is decisive now
We are at a crossroads in history. On the one hand, we face a world of chaos, where democracies collapse, nature succumbs, and inequality tears societies apart. On the other, we can embrace a future that can be brighter than anything we know now. Which direction we take depends on the choices we make today, according to associate professor of transformative imagination, Joost Vervoort. The role of companies and their executives in this cannot be overstated.
The Evolution of Boardroom Dynamics
From hopeful questions to a hopeful future?
The future of food: Winning in a tough market
Trudy Onland (Stedin): ‘Accelerating with tomorrow’s technology’
‘Insecure women’ as a convenient and dangerous argument
