Strategic Intent …
Strategic intent something that we sometimes call vision, dreams, or big ideas is essential to any powerful and effective strategy. For such a strategy to rise above the level of mere technique, it must have an inspirational strategic intent at its core to inspire a club, player and the team.
In 1989 two influential scholars, Gary Hamel and C.K. Prahalad coined the term “strategic intent” in the Harvard Business Review. These two thinkers recognised the flaw in much of our thinking about strategy up until the 1990’s: the pursuit of imitative techniques as a substitute for strategy.
In contrast to this “strategy of imitation” strategic inspires a person or a team with an obsession to win. It articulates a long-term vision or aspiration of the group, reaching beyond current capabilities and forcing group members to develop the goal.
The need to be inventive or resourceful is a result of establishing “stretch goals”.
Merely tailoring your ambitions to current capabilities is a formula for maintaining the status quo, something I have written about when clubs are relegated to a lower grade.
However, this is very important, establishing stretch goals without strategic intent is a recipe for failure!
The concept of stretch goals linked to strategic intent is one of the secrets to the Japanese economic renaissance in the aftermath of World War II.
It entails envisioning a future that seems nearly impossible, then striving to make that future possible. Numerous companies adopted versions of that philosophy, including Honda, Matsushita, Sony and Toyota.
A future for our club that would seem impossible, is to have all the young boys now playing for Mazenod and Lesmurdie colleges join our colt’s sides for the forthcoming 2021 season.
However, there is much to do in the off-season and one of those tasks is to convince the parents of these potential players, that the culture of the club has changed because it was tainted several years ago.
In sport a clear example of strategic intent came from the legendary coach of the NFL’s Green Bay Packers coach Vince Lombardi. His grasp of strategic intent was sure and unambiguous: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.”
Strategic intent must be translated into achievable mid-range goals. For his players Lombardi translated the overall goal of winning into a clear statement of strategic intent: “You never win a game unless you beat the guy in front of you.”
In considering a football team as a value chain, with victory dependent on each player’s individual effort and continuous high performance, it’s clear how the notion of strategic intent fits into strategic planning.
Articulating a strategic intent requires boldness grounded in a strategic assessment of reality. It means charting a course and closing off some options because you have elected consciously to pursue one goal with a single-minded fervor.
This page is dedicated to Hills Gas Supply, proud sponsors of the Kalamunda Football Club.
130 Pomeroy Road, Lesmurdie WA 6076 Telephone: 9291 5551 www.hillsgas.com.au
