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IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009

The War Slralegic Room reresenls a
managemenl leam's shared ercelion of lheir
business, a virluaI room from vhich lhe business
slralegy viII be Ianned and execuled. Il is a
melahor for lhe shared gIobaI viev of lhe business
and ils environmenl.
uiIding a War Room slarls vilh buiIding
lhe common underslanding of lhe suIy chain
and lhe basis on vhich key slakehoIders evaIuale
managemenl erformance and caabiIily. The
managemenl leam's coIIeclive inleIIigence rovides
lhe basis for consensus on lhe riorilies for
changes. Workshos Ied by an exerienced
faciIilalor enabIe managers lo riorilize lhe
informalion lo sel direclion and eslabIish goaIs for
lheir unils. The faciIilalor's roIe is lo buiId
consensus of lhe oulcome of lhe vorksho.
Iive mas form lhe var room lhe usi-
ness Invironmenl Ma, lhe DeIivery Ma, lhe
SlakehoIder Ma, lhe Slralegy Ma and lhe GoaI
Ma. AII mas are needed lo gel lhe shared gIobaI
viev of lhe business and ils environmenl, and lo
seIecl lhe righl goaIs and slralegies.
The business Iogic of our aroach can be
summarized in four rinciIes:
! Using managers' emovermenl lo lake lhe
inilialive based on lheir ovn mission and ovn
insighl
! Iocus on hov key slakehoIders (inleresled
arlies) evaIuale lhe organisalion's
erformance and caabiIily
! Track and imrove lhe organisalion's
caabiIilies vhich imrove erformance
! CoIIaborale vilh key slakehoIders in
deveIoing lhe mosl comelilive suIy chain
The baIance belveen slralegic and
oeralionaI lasks is a significanl one. A manager's
lradilionaI lask is lo Ian, organize, foIIov u,
reorl and affirm by signing. Mosl managers are
aIso resonsibIe for recruilmenl, saIary negolialions
and, vhere necessary, lerminalions, and lhese are
oeralionaI lasks lhal cannol be deIegaled. ul

Developing a Strategic War Room through Facilitation
By Krister Forsberg and Per-Olov Olsson
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IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009
many olher lasks, such as suervision and
robIem soIving, can be.

Needs different skill set
Slralegic lasks require a differenl skiII sel
from oeralionaI lasks. A manager may vork in
a Managemenl Team or aIone, coIIaboraling vilh
lheir mosl imorlanl slakehoIders.
Wilhin lhe Managemenl Team,
managers viII generale a gIobaI iclure of lhe
organisalion and lhe environmenl in vhich il
oerales, incIuding an anaIysis of lhe suIy
chain and lhe organisalion's inlernaI rocesses.
Iarl of lhe managemenl rocess invoIves
riorilizing lhe lrends and evenls vhich inform
one's aclions.
Oulside lhe Managemenl Team, lhe lask
is lo engage key slakehoIders, drive change,
communicale vilh emIoyees, and foIIov u on
erformance.
Assuming a slralegic roIe requires
managers lo adol severaI very differenl roIes
from lhose lhey occuy in daiIy oeralionaI
vork. Ralher lhan laking aII of lhe vork on lheir
ovn shouIders, managers can use lhe
Managemenl Team far more effecliveIy by
Iearning lo share slralegic lasks and acl in lhe
roIes as goaI drivers and reIalionshi managers.
Many managemenl modeIs and melhods
are nol efficienl lo aIy for managers vorking
in a highIy comelilive environmenl in lhe 21sl
cenlury. To be more efficienl in lhe managemenl
rocess, emovered managemenl leams need lo
adal lvo shifls:
The firsl is lo shifl from lhe lo dovn
aroach in vhich goaIs are cascaded from lhe
lo, lo creale a hierarchy of goaIs, lo lhe
emovered aroach in vhich managers acl on
lheir ovn inilialive oul of lheir ovn mission and
ovn insighl. Iach managemenl leam has ils ovn
business environmenl and suIy chain lo
manage.
The second shifl is from idenlifying
goaIs from a vision and re-delermined
erseclive (e.g. finance, cuslomer, rocess) lo
idenlifying goaIs from hov lhe key SlakehoIders
evaIuale erformance and lhe abiIily lo erform.
In lhe managemenl rocess, a manager may
have one or severaI roIes - ReIalionshi
Manager, GoaI Driver and GoaI Ovner. As a
GoaI Driver, he/she is resonsibIe for achieving a
given goaI by aIIocaling resources and ensuring
foIIov u. The GoaI Ovner is lhe head of lhe
unil for vhom lhe secific goaIs are designed.
The key lo success in GoaI Ovnershi Iies in lhe
caabiIily of lhe GoaI Drivers and ReIalionshi
Managers lhal are seIecled and aoinled.
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IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009


Collaborate with key Stakeholders
As ReIalionshi Manager, managers
musl engage key slakehoIders, coIIaboraling
vilh lhem by sharing insighls, asiralions and
resuIls, engaging lhem in commerciaI or non-
commerciaI oorlunilies, invoIving lhem in
soIving robIems, and sharing ercelions of
risk vilh lhem.
The effecl is lo creale a diaIog vilh
SlakehoIders one lhal is characlerized by lrusl
and lransarency. The urose is lo buiId lhe
mosl comelilive suIy chain, vhich requires
emovered Managemenl Teams vorking in
nelvorks and driven by lheir ovn shared sense
of mission.
Ior managers, slakehoIder anaIysis
invoIves idenlifying lheir mosl imorlanl
slakehoIders. Their Iine manager or sonsor is a
key SlakehoIder. The slakehoIders have
execlalions of lheir erformance and caabiIily.
The ovner of lhe business, chairman of lhe
board, inveslors and aulhorilies aII beIong lo lhe
circIe of imorlanl slakehoIders. Their mosl
imorlanl slakehoIder is, hovever, lheir
cuslomer.
IinaIIy, vilhin lheir ovn organisalion,
lhey viII cooerale vilh lheir ovn eoIe on
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IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009
hov lo efficienlIy communicale changes, goaIs,
and so on.

Facilitator is key to success
To leam effecliveness usuaIIy requires
an exerienced faciIilalor, as nol aII managemenl
leams have reached lhe IeveI of malurily needed
lo manage slralegicaIIy. When faciIilaling Man-
agemenl Teams in idenlifying slralegies and
goaIs, lhe faciIilalor is focused on vhal lhe man-
agers aIready knov, ralher seeking oul nev
ideas lhrough brainslorming. The ansvers lo lhe
key queslions are in lhe heads of lhe managers.
Our exeriences from faciIilaling lhese
leams suggesl lhal:
! Managemenl leams need lime lo Iearn lo
vork efficienlIy and effecliveIy logelher.
Immalure managemenl leams are IikeIy lo
be diverled by confIicls and over
slruggIes,
! Many managemenl leams lry lo gras
everylhing lhal lhey lhink is imorlanl,
consequenlIy, lhey sel loo many goaIs and
Iose focus on vhal is mosl imorlanl. Lack
of riorilizalion is one of lhe mosl common
obslacIes lo aclion,
Ivery managemenl leam needs a common
underslanding of lhe lasks lhe individuaI leam
members musl erform if lhe organizalion is lo
achieve more. The mosl successfuI managemenl
leams are lhose lhal use defined slralegic roIes
lhroughoul lhe managemenl rocess, lhe mosl
imorlanl of vhich are ReIalionshi Manager,
GoaI Ovner and GoaI Driver.
A managemenl leam viII achieve more
if ils members knov each olher's slrenglhs and
are viIIing lo comensale for veaknesses. AII
leam members musl accel lhal aII roIes in a
managemenl leam are equaIIy imorlanl.
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IAF Europe Newsletter Dec. 2009
Managers oflen form a diverled grou of
individuaIs, vhich viII chaIIenge lhe skiIIs of lhe
faciIilalor in any vorkshos. Grou dynamics
and lhe cIimale viII aIso infIuence lhe resuIls.
Gelling lo knov lhe leam members is lhe
essenliaI firsl sle for a faciIilalor. Is lhe
managemenl leam a high-erformance leam
good al managing grou dynamics, or a grou
of fruslraled managers sliII seeking lheir roIes`

Providing methods and tools
Whal are lhe olher rerequisiles for a
var room beyond underslanding lhe slage of
deveIomenl of lhe managemenl leam` The
faciIilalor needs lo rovide lhe managemenl
leam vilh melhods and looIs lo make high-
quaIily decisions in consensus. His or her roIe is
as enabIer in lhe vorksho rocess and buiIding
consensus of lhe oulcome.
Over lhe years, ve have deveIoed a sel
of inler-reIaled melhods lo meel five secific
crileria. These melhods shouId be:
! Generic aIicabIe lo aII organisalions in
lerms of size, lye, IeveI and managemenl
syslem
! SeIeclive idenlifying lhe vilaI fev ieces of
informalion in order lo excIude vhal is Iess
imorlanl
! SlakehoIder focused lhe rocess musl be
cenlred on hov key slakehoIders evaIuale
lhe organisalion's erformance and
caabiIily, and on coIIaboralion vilh lhose
slakehoIders
! Iasl aIicabIe on aII IeveIs/unils in
araIIeI lo save Iead lime. AII sles
inlerreIale seamIessIy for lhe desired
oulcome
! ComIele rovide suorl lhroughoul lhe
rocess from iniliaI anaIysis lo foIIov u on
slralegy imIemenlalion incIuding rogress
revievs of aclions and goaIs achieved
Once a managemenl leam has run ils firsl
successfuI var room, lhey find il much easier lo
reeal or deveIo lhe rocess. The Slralegic War
Room becomes lheir shared gIobaI viev of lheir
business and ils environmenl bolh menlaIIy and
icloriaIIy, and is lheir besl source for crealing a
communicalion slory lhal mobiIizes and engages
lheir eoIe in achieving lheir goaIs and
fuIfiIIing lheir slralegy.


About the author

Krisicr |crs|crg runs nis cun |usi-
ncss (uuu.krisicrjcrs|crg.ccn) in inc arca cj
cpcraiicna| !ctc|cpncni, nanagcncni sqs-
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jaci|iiaiing nanagcncni icans. Hc nas |ccn
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Sqsicns.
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|usincss as a jaci|iiaicr an! iraincr cj nan-
agcncni icans. |cr nanq qcars, nc ucrkc! as
a iraincr an! jaci|iiaicr cj nanagcncni icans,
an! uas rcspcnsi||c jcr ncasurcncni prcccss
an! pcrjcrnancc rcpcriing in |ricsscns ra!ic
nciucrk uniis. Hc uas a cnanpicn in !ctc|cp-
ncni cj |ricsscns nanagcncni prcccss. Hc
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cgq Map an! Gca| Map.

Tnc nanagcncni apprcacn !iscussc! ncrc is
ju||q !cscri|c! in Gca|-|asc! Ica!crsnip,
|crs|crg c O|sscn, Ii|cr 2004 (|n Suc!isn.
Ma||ascrai Ic!arskap.)