The First 100 Days: Charting success as a new Head of Strategy

Starting a new role as a new head of strategy is an excellent opportunity to create strategic impact for an organization and can serve as a door opener to other senior management roles. At the same time the role can be a “hot seat”. When you enter the arena as a new Head of Strategy it includes high expectations and visible scrutiny, especially from the C-suite. In particular, the initial 100 days are not just a period of adaptation, but a critical window where your actions will be meticulously observed, setting the stage for your strategic leadership in the time ahead. The initial phase requires focus to succeed in the new role. To maximize impact and set a foundation for success, consider these four critical pillars.

1. Master the Stakeholder Landscape

Upon entering the new role, it is key to recognize the importance of establishing strong stakeholder relationships. A Head of Strategy isn’t the captain of a ship; they are a diplomat tasked with fostering clarity and alignment across the company. To understand the organizational landscape, they need to forge early, genuine relationships with key stakeholders.

Building these connections serves multiple purposes. First, it offers invaluable insights into existing strategic priorities and ongoing initiatives. This understanding ensures that as you chart the course forward, you’re building on current strengths rather than unknowingly duplicating efforts or, worse, causing internal friction. Taking the time to meet, listen, and comprehend the expectations of stakeholders can save countless hours of potential rework and conflict resolution down the line.

Furthermore, keeping consistent communication with stakeholders serves as a means to measure the impact of strategic initiatives. The initial phases present a special chance. Through adopting a cooperative method, leaders of new strategies can make certain that these changes are seen not as top-down directives but as joint efforts.

2. Defining the Strategy Lifecycle

With key relationships established, it’s essential to comprehend the rhythm and cadence of the organization’s strategic processes. This is best described as the strategy lifecycle, a sequence of phases through which strategic initiatives evolve from ideation to execution and review over a typical calendar year.

Start by delineating the major milestones within the annual strategic process. Identify how these milestones interact with other significant organizational cycles, such as budgeting or sales and operations planning (S&OP). This will not only ensure that strategic efforts are synchronized with other functional areas but also spotlight potential gaps or overlaps that could disrupt the smooth flow of initiatives.

One of the recurrent pitfalls for a new strategy leader is a tendency to overly fixate on drafting an exhaustive strategy document. While comprehensive planning has its merits, a document that doesn’t resonate with the broader organization often sits on a shelf, collecting dust. It’s not merely about devising a plan, but rather engaging in a structured dialogue regarding strategic priorities and their implementation.  Therefore, it’s crucial to involve a diverse set of stakeholders throughout the strategy lifecycle.

The strategy lifecycle also serves as a framework for decision-making. By clarifying how decisions are made across business units, geographies, and functions, the Head of Strategy plays a pivotal role in fostering coherence across the organization. This coherence enhances the collective capability to adapt and change, vital traits in today’s dynamic business environment.

3. Assembling Your Strategy Team

At the heart of a successful strategy lies a competent, motivated team with a clear mandate. As the strategy lead, your initial task is to evaluate the current team setup and identify areas for enhancement. However, a word of caution: While it’s essential to have the right resources, avoid the temptation of seeking extensive resources at the outset. Focus initially on demonstrating value and achieving tangible outcomes. As results become evident, you can judiciously scale up resources, ensuring optimal utilization and maximum impact.

In addition, It is important to not only think about the own team of direct reports, but also the wider community of strategy professionals and strategy managers across the company. These could be product managers, channel strategist, BU strategy managers or others. Seizing this pool of allies in the wider strategy community within the company can be an invaluable asset to create alignment and momentum.

4. Crafting the Initial Strategic Blueprint

This blueprint should articulate both the long-term vision the deliberate choices to realize that vision. A good starting point can be to answer five strategic questions as suggested by Lafley & Martin:

• What are our aspirations?
• Where to play?
• How to win?
• What are required capabilities?
• What are required management systems?

Moreover, while crafting this blueprint, resist the temptation to operate in isolation. Embrace a collaborative approach. When the broader organization perceives the strategy as a joint effort, the likelihood of its success increases manifold. Collaboration not only ensures buy-in but also leverages the collective wisdom of the organization, leading to a more robust and resilient strategy.

In summary, the role of a new Head of Strategy is multifaceted and demanding. Yet, by anchoring efforts around these four pillars a new head of strategy can navigate this challenging phase with confidence and set the stage for lasting success.

At Heyd Strategy, we have hands on experience in helping heads of strategy succeed in their roles. We are here to help you get to a good start. Reach out to us to learn more.