Most successful organisations have one thing in common: a clear strategy plan. Wayne Osterberg, Director, Advisory Services at KPMG Papua New Guinea, shares with us his tips for defining and implementing a strategy plan for any organisation.

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Too many businesses and organisations in Papua New Guinea operate without a clear strategy. Whilst many entities have achieved success with a clearly defined and implemented strategy, you are likely to find that they have one, but it is just not well defined or communicated. In order for any organisation to have the best possible chance of success a strategy plan is essential.

A clear strategy is the pinnacle of the success pyramid of any entity. It sits atop the organisation and provides an intent and an overall game plan for the organisation to follow to achieve its objectives. It generally consists of a vision for the entity; a mission statement, which sets out how the vision will be achieved; and then the core values of that organisation, which will guide it in its internal and external interactions.

The strategy provides a framework for the next layer of the pyramid – the leadership of the organisation. It provides context for the board and the executives to base their decisions upon and to cascade down into operational matters.

‘None of these layers are static or fixed. Just as the operating environment changes over time, so an organisation must revisit its layers for success to ensure they adapt to meet the changed conditions.’

The next layer of the pyramid contains the policies and procedures of the organisation. These are the engine room of any entity because they provide the policies that are needed to guide behaviour and action. The procedures follow from the policies and provide the ‘operational manuals’ for its staff. The policies and procedures cover all aspects of human resourcing – technology, financial controls, limits of authority – and are essential for a successful operating entity.

It is important to note that none of these layers are static or fixed. Just as the operating environment changes over time, so an organisation must revisit its layers for success to ensure they adapt to meet the changed conditions. The corporate strategy should be revisited every three to five years. Leadership needs constant attention and renewal or refreshment. Policies and procedures are more dynamic and require annual refreshment to ensure they are robust and relevant.

The correct and successful implementation of the above three layers will generate key performance indicators for the entity which will encompass and address the following critical-for-success factors:

• Financial strength
• Service delivery
• Team motivation
• Client or stakeholder engagement
• Public perception

How to generate a clear strategy

KPMG’s Wayne Osterberg.

Generating a clear strategy for an entity involves five steps. These are:

1. Consider the environment in which you operate. This requires the identification of all the external
factors that could impact your organisation. Commonly considered through a PESTLE (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental) analysis
.

2. Have a critical analysis of your organisation. What are your strengths and weaknesses? Be honest
and be detailed. What threats does your entity face and what opportunities can it take advantage
of?

3. Know your competitors. What are your competitors doing? What is their strategy and how do you want to position
yourselves relative to them? From these previous three steps, you will be able to articulate what you as an organisation want to achieve

4. Define you vision, mission and guiding values. What opportunities do you want to take advantage of? How will you counter the threats you have identified? How will you leverage and develop your strengths? How will you minimise your vulnerability to the weaknesses?

The final step is arguably the most important one in terms of translating strategy into success.

5. Plan implementation. How you translate your strategy into specific objectives. How you determine who will
take responsibility for each piece of the implementation. What are the specific objectives, who will be
responsible for them, how will success be measured and when? The devil, as always, is in the detail.

This is an edited version of the article ‘The right strategy is key to the success of any Papua New Guinea organisation’, which was first published in KPMG‘s KUNDU newsletter. Republished with permission.