How to create a compelling strategy in an age of continuous uncertainty

Only 10% of strategy is about defining the strategic framework – purpose, priorities, beliefs and values. The other 90% is about bringing strategy to life through colleagues and customers. The biggest challenge? Motivating people to activate and innovate so that you can create the future you seek.

Here’s what CEOs are telling us about strategic context:

• The majority of CEOs are facing 10 or more global contextual challenges (UN Global Compact/Accenture CEO research, 2023).
• 40% of CEOs think their organisation won’t be economically viable in ten years’ time (PWC 2023 CEO survey).
• CEOs want to spend as much time reinventing their business as improving current performance (PWC 2023 CEO survey).

And yet, despite this outlook, the last 12 months has seen resistance against ESG picking up a head-of-steam.

Supporting your strategy

Here are our top three ESG recommendations:

1. Prioritise the areas of ESG that are critical for your organisation to achieve long-term success.
2. Align ESG priorities to strategy and bring your priorities to life through transformational change projects. ESG claims are only credible if they are backed by action. In the 2023 KPMG Outlook, 68% of CEOs said ESG progress was not strong enough to withstand potential scrutiny.
3. Build trust by revealing genuine commitment through compelling stories told by colleagues, citizens and customers. ESG commitments are only persuasive if they are the truth well told.

Bringing it to life

How does this work in practice?

To prioritise ESG areas:

• Continually review context for risks and opportunities. Our work with clients shows that to remain resilient, organisations need to have their finger on the pulse of context every day, every week, every month – not just once every five years.
• Bring the context to life for colleagues and customers. Reveal the reality through images, videos and first-person stories.

To show your commitment to action:

• Create a visual strategic framework that illustrates how your strategy and ESG thinking align.
• Identify the key corporate and individual behaviours needed to bring ESG to life. This is your strategic behavioural framework.
• Reveal how your ESG priorities are influencing your products and services and the transformative actions you are triggering to address the risks and opportunities.
• Create a culture of openness, curiosity and continuous innovation.

To build trust:

• Give your colleagues, customers and community partners the lead role in telling your stories.
• Create a compelling overall narrative, and keep it regularly updated.
• Make your communications human. Avoid corporate tosh and anything that smacks of ESG-washing. And become comfortable with debate.

Let’s talk

There is huge commercial benefit in truth well told. 24% of CEOs believe that over the next three years ESG will have the greatest impact on their customer relationships. (KPMG 2023 CEO outlook).

Our approach is designed to help you future-proof your organisation. To arrange a chat, please contact elaine.smith@corporateculture.co.uk