Strategy Workshop - Case Study

Creating strategic options for a financial services organisation

A retail financial services company facing an increasingly competitive general insurance market wanted to look at radically different strategic options for achieving its growth and profitability objectives.

Using a series of highly interactive and participative workshops, we helped a team of experienced managers from across the business work through a structured process of market analysis and the definition and choice of viable options.

First, the team drew on existing knowledge and insight to analyse the market and the forces shaping the nature and strength of competition. This analysis was further refined by identifying the key political, economic, social and technology trends that were affecting the nature of competition.

Second, through the use of a logic tree structure, the team generated increasingly specific options for growth. The viability and attractiveness of these options were evaluated in relation to the market analysis and the team’s assessment of the company’s position and key competencies. The process and facilitation both encouraged and kept alive a number of radical and counter–cultural options.

The third step was to develop a pro-forma business case for the most attractive options. Tightly specified empirical research and analysis was then undertaken to support, re-formulate or dismiss the pro-forma business cases.

Within a few weeks, the team was able to present a shortlist of researched options to the company’s Board and so contribute significantly to the development of the company’s overall business strategy