Strategic Management

One of the reasons why meetings keep on stretching beyond stipulated time is that the
members , specially the chairman of the meeting does not have clear idea between the
strength of the organization and the required strategy for achieving the objectives. As a
result they keep on swinging between strategy and strength.

But the sheer fact is that strength is always stronger than strategy. Strategy is only for
them where the strength is less or is not enough to achieve the target. In other words
strategy is a ploy if not a complete deceit.

Look at a tiger while catching the deer it has to deploy a strategy because it knows that it
cannot overrun a deer on a long run. So stealthily it goes near the prey as much as
possible before running.

Once caught , it employs sheer force of it's jaws and claws to kill it and cut it in no time.

Whereas a meat seller while cutting meat has to apply strategy which comes in the form
of chopper. Because his strength is not enough to chop the meat.

Similarly vultures to eat hard bones of the left over prey of tigers ,take the bone up in the
sky and drop it on hard ground. The bone gets crushed and the vultures feast on the
marrow. The vultures know that its beak cannot crush the hard bone so it employs a
strategy.

A strategic management can be defined as --- The art and science of formulating ,
implementing and evaluating cross-functional ploys that enable an organization to
achieve it's objectives with the otherwise-not-enough resources and strength.

Strength achieves the target in the most elegant and efficient ways whereas the strategy
achieves the target in the least deployable ways. The strength rarely fails but the strategy
may fail from time to time. Strength comes from inside whereas strategy gets assembled
outside.

If the strength is the Highest Common Factor (HCF) then the strategy is the Least
Common Multiplication (LCM). Strength is sleek and small , Strategy is big and heavy.

The organization that already has the strength for the objective , employing a strategy
there may simply worsen the situation. Just imagine a tiger using a nut cracker to break
the bones. Alas! he has to be a vegetarian then.
Sometimes the strength or the HCF is not available (say for prime numbers) but strategy
or the LCM is always possible. The organization has to be absolutely sure that it does
not have the required strength and only then it should think of strategies. Having
strength and then applying strategy may not only complicate the things but also cause
ineffectiveness in the processes.

When this difference is not known to the chairman or the members present ,the meeting
prolongs and they vacillate between strength , strategy and both.

However there are places where both strength and strategy required for achieving the
objective. Like the boat race.

Strength + Strategy

Similarly the show of strength might be this one.

When an A380 takes off the ground it is more like a flurry of strength then anything else.

Strength + Strength

S. Bera
Mumbai