As businesses navigate the current landscape characterized by volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity, a new perspective on strategy is emerging. This perspective is centered around the operating model – viewing it as a collection of strategic assets.
Rooted in resource-based theory, it posits that an organization’s resources and capabilities form the basis of its strategy and are key determinants of its competitive advantage.
Imagine if you were to manage parts of your operating model as you would manage physical or investment assets.
When managing physical assets, organizations typically:
- Keep an inventory or register of these assets,
- Determine the value of each asset to the organization,
- Plan and monitor the lifecycle of the assets,
- Allocate resources for maintenance and upgrades,
- Plan for eventual succession of the assets.
Similarly, when managing investment portfolios, organizations:
- Decide on which assets to include in the portfolio,
- Analyze the balance within the portfolio to ensure resilience,
- Monitor performance and adjust the portfolio accordingly,
- Plan for potential succession of certain investments.
Applying these principles to your operating model can yield significant advantages. By viewing parts of the operating model as strategic assets, each with a defined value and lifecycle, you can manage them more effectively and make more informed strategic decisions.
Moreover, adopting a portfolio approach allows you to maintain a balanced mix of strategic assets, manage interdependencies between them and adjust your portfolio in response to changing circumstances. It also prompts you to consider the future and plan for the succession of certain strategic assets.
In the pursuit of adaptive strategy and execution, this perspective on the operating model is a game changer. It provides a structured and effective approach to managing strategic assets, enabling organizations to be more agile, resilient and future-ready.
The Scientrix platform was designed to support this approach. It provides a flexible, scalable system for managing multiple interconnected portfolios of strategic assets, enabling organizations to have a comprehensive view of their operating model and make strategic decisions in a more informed and adaptive manner.