Let's continue discussing the elements of strategy execution. In the 4A model we've gone through alignment, ability, and architecture. What we want to do now is dig deeper into the fourth element which is agility. The responsiveness of an organization. How that happens and why it happens? So questions to consider. Why is agility critical for an executing organization? Maybe more importantly, when is agility necessary?. Why is is difficult to achieve like many of the elements we've talked about? It's on the surface, pretty straightforward but making it happen is much more difficult. And at the end of the day what we want to be able to do is focus on what companies can do to improve their agility, and use that to drive execution and performance of the firm. By the end of this little segment what we want to do is to make sure you're able to determine the obstacles' agility. What holds the organizations back, what are the underlying causes for an organization to lose that sense of responsiveness. Identify the requirements for improving organizational agility. Again, like all of the elements that we've talked about, we want to focus on those things that may be are most critical, even while there are a lot of moving parts and elements that go into it. And we want to be able to analyze and evaluate which specific actions will improve the agility of an organization. So that it can execute over time. Now one of my favorite stories is the story about Albert Einstein as a professor. He was handing out his exam to his graduate students and his assistant said to him, but Professor Einstein, these are the same questions you used last year. And Einstein responded, it's okay. The questions are the same but the answers are different. I think there's a parallel to organization here. The questions every year may be exactly the same. How do we create customer value? How do we drive profitability? How do we beat the competition? But one of the things that we know is that in dynamic environments, the answers to those questions start to change. So the more the ground moves, the more the organization needs to flex. So let's go and look at this. Now here's an example of a company that you all know well, Nokia And their former president said, a few years ago, you'd have set your vision and your strategy, and then just started following it. It's locked in place, and it works. But, that doesn't work any more. Now you have to be alert every day, every week, every month, to renew your strategy and to think about how it might change. In 2007, not that long ago, Nokia dominated the cellphone market. They have 63% of the market share worldwide. This is a pretty amazing offer on this company's part. Now, in 2007, by 2013. Nokia's market share in cell phones was less than 3%. Now what happened? Well, 2007 is an interesting year because that's the year that Apple introduced the iPhone. And the whole story about what was required for success changed. Nokia focused on technology, they focused on the hardware. Their R&D group was arguably the best in the industry. Even the camera that they had in their phone was probably the best around. But by 2013 it wasn't about the hardware anymore. It was about the software. It was about the apps. It was about the usability and the designing. The game had changed and Nokia was still focused on the hardware and was very, very, very slow in responding to the changes in the industry. Now eventually Nokia sold off its cell phone business to Microsoft who also struggled. But it was the idea that Software and hardware would be married together. One observer said these two are the only ones left at the dance without a partner and that's why they got together. But they've struggled ever since. Now contrast that with Apple And leader in the industry in cellphones is also Google with its Android operating system. Apple and Google are both very, very interesting companies which focus on agility, focus on trying new things. Now Apple has always stayed focused on the customer. About you and me, and what we might need and what are the new products that might help us communicate with one another or live our lives. It started with the Mac of course, but it went the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad, iTunes, Apple TV, and most recently watch. All of these were different ways that the organization was going to create value for us. They were extending their core but doing it in a very agile way trying new things. Now were there missteps along the way? Yes there were. In fact not all those products are equally successful, but Apple's view Is not to just stay focused on one thing but to continue renew opportunities to the market and adapt adjust along the way. So I think this is a very interesting contrast between a company that used to dominate in a segment and a company that now does. Apple and Google by the way are the two most valuable companies on the planet. Their market values for each of them hovers around $550 billion. And it's not just because they make the best phones, but because they are creating the most market potential. We want to learn from this. What's needed for agility? What's behind it and how can avoid the pitfalls that other organizations have encountered? [BLANK AUDIO]
