Executives often feel a tremendous amount of pressure to reduce their costs by achieving operational efficiencies. At the same time, there is also continuous pressure to implement new ways of working: automation, innovation etc. The solution to such pressure internal (cut costs) & external (available innovation in market) requires being ambidextrous while building your short-term & long-term strategy.
By ambidextrous, I mean a structured road map with defined timelines, RACI matrix etc., which is aligned with the business vision to exploit operational efficiencies and scaling those (efficiencies), while exploring new technologies which can give you competitive advantage in the market. On a side note, I have penned down my thoughts on why it is better to invest in innovation & not in technology. You can read it here
Importance of Ambidexterity
Ambidexterity in planning & strategy becomes necessary when the external environment is diverse, competition is fierce, government regulations are unclear & there is disruptions in technologies (PEST analysis) – requiring enterprises to be flexible all the time and change the way they operate in delta time.
Building Ambidexterity
The plan & layout to integrate ambidexterity into your enterprise is one of the most crucial activities for your sustenance. It effectively boils down to how many parameters (both internal & external) can you study and how effectively can you map them into Termination or Transition.
By Termination, I mean identifying activities, processes, tasks that can be eliminated (which then maps to innovation). By Transition, I mean redesigning, refinement & renovating these activities, processes or tasks (which maps to scaling operational efficiencies).
Note of Caution
Ambidexterity, though, allows you to be flexible and nimble in your short-term or long-term strategies, it is very difficult to master.
The struggle to adopt ambidexterity is going to rise (as the analysis of PEST framework leads you with very uncertain results). The division of your enterprise into Termination & Transition is the stepping-stone towards facing the dynamism of the business environment. Acting now can be useful; else, your enterprise may risk being overtaken by an ambidextrous competitor.
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