UCLA professor and author Richard Rumelt delivered the Wednesday morning keynote address at Safety 2013. It was based on his study of strategy and his book Good Strategy Bad Strategy. If you’re interested, there is a pretty good review of Rumelt’s book by Jon Mertz here.
Rumelt began his comments by saying that wishful thinking is not a strategy. Similarly, as some have said, hope is not a strategy, either. While his remarks dealt primarily with the business world, EHS professionals can certainly recognize the wisdom of his words.
Rumelt gave examples of companies and individuals who thought they had a strategy but really had, in the good professor’s words “fluff." His clearest example of a valid strategy was what Steve Jobs did years ago when Apple was failing. He reduced the product line from 14 down to one; he stopped making peripherals; he eliminated expensive talent that did not support the core business; and he took many more concrete steps. As Rumelt says, “This was just business 101.”
Jobs made tough choices after clearly diagnosing the problem(s), then he put in place a clear action plan. Apple made a dramatic turnaround. On the other hand, Rumelt described how General Motors was competing against itself in the 1920s. One man’s diagnosis of the problem and subsequent strategy eliminated overlapping models and pricing for GM and the company flourished. Until it didn’t. In 2009, GM filed for bankruptcy protection; its then-business model looked much like the one that was causing it to fail in the 1920s. Apparently, strategy doesn’t work if you don’t adhere to it.
Rumelt’s message was that strategy consists of what he calls the “kernel." The kernel consists of three elements: diagnosis, guiding policy and coherent action. That’s what Jobs used and GM did, too, for awhile.
Diagnosis is more than identifying the problem; it also includes developing an approach that can be followed to solve the problem. Guiding policy is not the action steps but more the “guardrails” that facilitate what needs to take place. Coherent action means aligning and coordinating the activities that fit within the guiding policy.
When it comes to SHE affairs, do you or your company have a strategy? Can you clearly explain, in your already prepared elevator speech, what your EHS strategy is? Can you and others easily list the guiding policy? Do the people who need to know understand what the required actions are to help you achieve your strategy?
If you’re not there yet, read Rumelt’s book and consider his advice to write down your strategy and the kernel elements and practice it on a particular situation that needs to be addressed. Be prepared to make the tough choices and, by all means, avoid the EHS fluff.
Safety 2013's Wednesday General Session was sponsored by SafeStart.