Successful Strategy Execution The Balanced Scorecard

A balanced scorecard is balanced precisely because it considers three major areas of performance: 1) The relationship between the company and the customer; 2) the key internal processes of the company; and 3) the learning and growth of the company. The dynamics that make the balanced scorecard a highly functional tool is that it enables linkage to be constructed between the short-term activities of the company to its long-term objectives. These linkages are established by the following: 1) translating and operationalizing the vision; 2) communicating and linking the day-to-day work of individuals with the overall company strategy; 3) business planning that interlocks the budgeting processes with long-term strategic planning in an integrated whole, and 4) feedback and learning enables a company to examine inferences, assumptions, and outcomes in order to adjust theories and decisions based on cause and effect relationships.

Who has the "D"? (Decision Responsibility)

A model called the RAPID process is proposed to expedite strategic decision-making. R stands for Recommend, which refers to the steps to propose a decision in a timely fashion, which include data gathering, receiving stakeholder input or consultation, and conducting analysis to make a sensible choice. A stands for Agree, which reflects the actions that are taken to negotiate an acceptable -- motivated -- proposal in conjunction with others. P stands for Perform, which stands for executing a decision promptly and effectively. I stand for Input, which includes the provision offering of relevant facts that can influence the feasibility and practical aspects of the proposal. D stand for Decide, which is the point of accountability that commits the organization to implementing the proposal.

GE -- McKinsey Matrix 1, 2, with color

The GE-McKinsey Matrix uses the popular matrix format with the two primary axis of Industry Attractiveness and Business' Competitive Position, which are further distinguished by high, medium, and low levels. Further details about market share are reflected by the size of the bubbles for each business. And the dimensions of market or business sales vs. market size are shown in the pic chart configurations inside the bubbles. The cells in the matrix are grouped to reflect three segments: Segment 1 represents a strong business in an attractive market. Segment 2 is fair to middling, showing strong business in an unattractive market or a weak business in an attractive market. Segment 3 reflects a weak business and an unattractive market.

Google according to the GE -- McKinsey Matrix

The GE-McKinsey Matrix was used to analyze 15 Google brands, placing each in one of three segments that reflect the attractiveness of the industry and the business's (the brands) competitive position. The brand placement descriptions explain the rationale and the competitive positioning on the matrix. Accordingly, the evolution of Goggle products and brands is reflected in their positioning on the brand.

Successful Strategy Execution -- Part I

The key measures explained in this discussion of strategy execution are as follows: Execution, achievement, financial, and customer satisfaction measures. Achievement measures reflect the conversion of a strategy or some performance dimension into an advantage that fosters earnings growth or functions as a competency.

Successful Strategy Execution -- Part II

The process of target setting involves some precursor behavior that conditions the environment and sets the stage for change. These behaviors include: 1) Showing why the change or new target is needed; 2) developing and communicating a vision and strategy to reach the vision, and 3) creating a sense of urgency with respect to targets and strategy.

ChapStick®

For more than a century -- indeed, since the 1880s -- ChapStick® was the original and dominant brand for lip conditioners. With the advent of Burt's Bees brand lip balm and the newcomer brand Eos, however, ChapStick has been on the verge of being considered a generic brand by consumers. Year-over-year losses of market share are indicative...

A new campaign features Alex Morgan, who is an Olympic gold medalist and a member of the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. Morgan, the brand's newest spokesperson, said,
"I always have ChapStick with me, whether I'm training or hanging out with my friends, so partnering with ChapStick was a natural fit for me. What's most interesting to me is the thought and science behind each product. Lips are an area of the body often overlooked and when it comes down to it, they should be among the most thought about because of their sensitive nature. No one understands lip health like ChapStick and that's why I trust my lips to them."

ChapStick is also engaged in social media monitoring and boasts 3.8 million Facebook fans. The objective of the marketing campaign is to project a balance of beauty, fun, and health while using the ChapStick product. An important thrust of the marketing campaign is to convey important information consumers may not know about the product or about how to best care for their lips. The print ads, TV ads, and digital videos developed by The Burns Group in New York will help consumers understand how and why the brand has evolved.

ChapStick has undergone numerous product iterations as more competitors entered the market. The brand has had a number of memorable high points: Put to use as microphone concealing tubes during the Watergate fiasco, Suzy ChapStick, Picabo Street, Cherry ChapStick. It has several times chased consumer trends: in 2007, the small niche cult-favorite Natural Botanicals Medley Lip Balm that is no longer produced, and the contemporary Vanilla Cream Hydration Lock that contains antioxidant CoQ10 and hyaluronic filling spheres.

Placed on the GE-McKinsey Matrix, ChapStick's Moisturizer, Classics Cherry and Classics Original are the most popular brands and would be located in Segment 1 as a strong business within a strong market. Flavored lip balms continue to be popular, but they are not particularly well differentiated by customers. ChapStick's medicated brands and the athletic brands with sunscreen are niche products, and could reasonably be placed in Segment 2. The GE-McKinsey Matrix has a number of advantages over the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix. While the BCG matrix has a narrow market growth rate, the GE-McKinsey Matrix is broader and considers more variables. The BCG matrix shows a basic market share configuration, while the GE-McKinsey matrix permits the use of more measures of competitive strength and goes beyond the accounting of market share owned by a product.

Strategy Execution

The lip balm category in the United States tops $400 million annually ("Strategy," 2013). The four primary brands, ChapStick, Blister Burt's Bees, and Carmel, have a combined 65% market share with roughly 200 smaller brands holding less than 1% of the total market share annually ("Strategy," 2013). Nivea entered the category in 2008, and spent approximately $10 million to carve out 6.3% of the market share annually ("Strategy," 2013). Then EOS launched in August 2009 with a market share goal of 2% in 6 months, 4% after one year and 6% after two years annually ("Strategy," 2013). However, at 6 months, EOS was at 2.5% of market share, 5.6% at one year, and by the second year, EOS had achieved 11.4% of the market share in the U.S., which is nearly double their original objective annually ("Strategy," 2013). EOS is a novel product in the undifferentiated sea of sameness that characterized the lip balm industry annually ("Strategy," 2013). What EOS has over the lip balm brands designed for women, such as Nivea and Soft lips, was to convey the product benefits as functional and pleasurable annually ("Strategy," 2013).

Decision Responsibility

ChapStick may have been new social media in 2011, the only plausible explanation for the level of poor decision-making the company exhibited. A photo that ChapStick used in an advertisement garnered a lot of negative feedback from viewers. ChapStick responded to criticism by deleting negative comments and ignoring them…