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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The results of AI investments consistently fall short of expectations. We are noticing this more and more often in our conversations with executives, board members, and other experts. Strikingly, the same root cause keeps coming up: it is not the technology that falls short, but the human judgement within the organization surrounding it.
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.’
Human judgement is the scarce resource of the AI era
The results of AI investments consistently fall short of expectations. We are noticing this more and more often in our conversations with executives, board members, and other experts. Strikingly, the same root cause keeps coming up: it is not the technology that falls short, but the human judgement within the organization surrounding it.
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.’
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Complex societal challenges call for innovation organized from the demand side. This requires cross-pollination between relevant parties. AWTI chair and professor Mirjam van Praag advocates for close collaboration within strong ecosystems centered on specific domains. ‘Innovation arises primarily where science, entrepreneurs, government, and capital converge.’
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.
Mirjam van Praag: ‘Innovation requires a systemic approach’
Complex societal challenges call for innovation organized from the demand side. This requires cross-pollination between relevant parties. AWTI chair and professor Mirjam van Praag advocates for close collaboration within strong ecosystems centered on specific domains. ‘Innovation arises primarily where science, entrepreneurs, government, and capital converge.’
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.
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.’
‘Organizations need to significantly increase their focus on flexibility’
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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
Auping CEO Jan-Joost Bosman and Johan Cruijff Arena CEO Tanja Dik are on the same wavelength when it comes to the sustainable transition. One (Bosman) participated in Discomfort in the Boardroom, the other (Dik) in the follow-up program In-Depth Governance, projects presented by MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) with support from the Goldschmeding Foundation to help executives and supervisory board members balance ethical issues and the interests of the company. ‘Together, we can spread the ink spill - ‘oil slick’ is the wrong word in this context.’
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.
‘Sensitive issues remain undiscussed too often’
Auping CEO Jan-Joost Bosman and Johan Cruijff Arena CEO Tanja Dik are on the same wavelength when it comes to the sustainable transition. One (Bosman) participated in Discomfort in the Boardroom, the other (Dik) in the follow-up program In-Depth Governance, projects presented by MVO Nederland (CSR Netherlands) with support from the Goldschmeding Foundation to help executives and supervisory board members balance ethical issues and the interests of the company. ‘Together, we can spread the ink spill - ‘oil slick’ is the wrong word in this context.’
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
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’
