Groove Strategy Group helps clients develop and execute pragmatic growth strategies that capitalize upon market, customer and competitive opportunities.
We help determine what it will take to win, develop the business case for investment and move an organization forward.
Our Strategy work includes:
Growth Strategy
We help our clients to formulate a winning growth strategy that enables company leadership to guide their organization.
With ever changing market conditions, and constant pressure to find ways to grow, companies need to ensure they have clear strategic direction.
Clients call us in such situations as:
- Flat or declining sales growth or margins
- Loss in market share
- A change in leadership or ownership
- A stale or unclear strategy
- An ambition to enter an adjacent market
- An increasingly challenging competitive landscape
- A desire to grow by acquisition, but an unclear understanding of the problems to solve through acquisition(s)
Our approach is based on a combination of proven frameworks and our experience helping middle and lower-middle market companies successfully develop winning growth strategies.
Growth Strategy Approach
Mission, Vision and Goals
1
- Clear definition of the company’s mission and a forward-looking vision
- Baseline performance and strategic positioning
- Articulation of goals that inform strategic choices
Where to Play
2
- Determining the right combination of strategic choices:
- End Market(s)
- Target Customer Segment(s)
- Products and Services
- Geographies
Play to Win
3
- Definition and delivery of value proposition(s) aimed at “Where to Play” choices
- Clear positioning to win against the competition
- Capability requirements to execute
Organize to Win
4
- Setting up the organization to win given the “Where to Play” and “Play to Win” choices
- Strong focus on customers and what the company has to be good at to deliver value
Adapted from “Playing to Win” by A.G. Lafley and Roger L. Martin and based on Groove Strategy Group’s experience.
Value Capture Planning
We understand the urgency our clients face to deliver results. We work closely with our Private Equity clients and their portfolio companies to translate a pre-close investment thesis into a post-close plan that is focused on capturing value.
Groove helps to ensure potential pitfalls are avoided, such as
- Ill-defined vision
- Excessively top-down mandates
- Pushing profits and investment returns without a sense of enterprise purpose
- Making broad-brushed assumptions on customers, end markets, competitors
- Avoiding hard decisions including where not to play
- Offerings not differentiated enough to support opportunities
- Not developing management processes, systems, and metrics to support value capture
- Under-investment in people and skills needed to execute
- Incentives mis-alignment
- Pressure for results exceeds the time to develop or strengthen capabilities needed to execute on the strategy
We collaborate with deal teams, operating partners and portfolio company management to:
- Challenge the ambitions and pressure-test key assumptions
- Determine how the company needs to scale – sales and marketing capabilities, organization and resources, customers and channels, and follow-on acquisitions
- Help articulate the business case for specific value creation opportunities – financial impacts, resources and investment, owners and accountable teams, timelines and risk mitigation
- Help generate consensus going forward
- Co-create an integrated program that facilitates progress reporting
Our client-tested approach is unique:
- Connected from strategy to execution – not a random list of initiatives
- Extension of an investment thesis / diligence into value capture
- Intentional focus on different strategy elements to avoid pitfalls
- Helps to scale organizations and strengthen capabilities
- Translates opportunities into budgets and accountabilities
- Execution ready plans
Benefits to our clients include:
- Greater clarity and conviction on the path forward
- Objective calibration on ambitions, goals, targets and timing
- Independent perspectives on what it will take to succeed
- Faster time to results
Strategy Execution
Many companies struggle with strategy execution.
Clients call us when they experience challenges such as:
- Strategy translation loss or ambiguous direction on the new strategy
- An inspiring vision and strategy that does not match the financial targets, resulting in a lack of commitment or disbelief
- Excessively top-down mandates that lack input, ownership and accountability from the organization
- Under-resourcing and conflict with ‘day jobs’
- Pressure for results exceeds the time to develop or strengthen capabilities needed to execute on the strategy
- Incentives mis-alignment
Strategy Execution Approach
Strategy Translation
1
- Clear articulation of a growth strategy into goals, workstreams, projects and targets
- Execution guidance, including non-negotiable items
Mobilization
2
- A core team to push the pace of execution, help coordinate, and solve issues
- Toolkit rollout
- Mobilization of teams to get work done
Planning and Execution
3
- Detailed planning and cross-functional coordination
- Project approvals
- Execution and ownership of projects
Execution Support
4
- Reporting and progress tracking
- Change management and communications support
- Hand-off and embed into day jobs
Let's Get Started
Contact Groove Strategy Group to discuss how we can help your company grow profitably.