I completed the "Converting Strategy to Action" class today! You can imagine my surprise and delight when instructor Ms. Lindig gave us our last exercise to wrap up the class began with a video clip of the Berliner Philharmoniker playing the 4th and most famous movement of Beethoven's 9th Symphony ("Ode to Joy"). Ah, bliss.
What was the exercise? Apply the Strategy Execution Framework to the Berliner Philharmoniker! Please don't be fooled by the mass of bubbles and arrows if you clicked on the link. Once Ms. Lindig took us through it, I found it to be a simple way to gain clarity on a previously indecipherable organization and articulate some sense out of where it is, and where it should be. To do this, you systematically go through Purpose, Goal, Culture, Structure, Strategy, and Portfolio (not necessarily in that order, but it's advisable to start with the first two).
The exercise showed us that the framework can be applied to any kind of organization, not just the corporate kind. The fact that this exercise was used in the class was extremely gratifying to me. My experience dancing in New York City taught me that the performing arts is, after all, a business with a bottom line. Definitions of teamwork and what constitutes success may vary from that of the office, but each ensemble, whether it be a large company like the San Francisco Ballet or the freelance rockstar duo Jacoby&Pronk, there is a raison d'etre, goals, a culture, and a structure that aligns with the strategy ... and a portfolio of programs and projects through which to develop and sustain itself.
The point is, no matter what kind of organization you are (or are in), you can use this method to plan and build a new one, or to make sense of an organization that could benefit from reevaluation. I have already drafted up a version for the organization I am in, and feel a growing sense of clarity now. Although, I must admit it was much more enjoyable to apply the framework on the Berliner Philharmoniker!
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