Clarifying confusion on Strategy

This posting came out of a discussion thread I contributed to help clarify some confusing terms used in "strategy" planning/execution based on the balanced scorecard technique

1. "Strategy planning" vs "strategic planning"
2. "Goal" vs "Objective"
3. "Measure" vs "Measurement"
4. "KPI" vs "KRI"
   
5. "Initiatives" vs "Actions"

I need to draw your attention that differentiation is based on technical as well as lingual basis and is entirely a personal view of the topic. Others have the right to differ with me and stick to whatever they believe.

"Strategy planning" vs "strategic planning"

There is a subtle lingual difference  between the two terms and this reflects on the nature of each one.   

• Strategy planning is about "planning the strategy" regardless what "strategy" we are planning; business strategy, IT strategy, HR strategy, corporate strategy, departmental strategy, country (national) strategy, global strategy, .. etc. Strategy planning in this sense is focused on producing a "strategy plan" whose shape and form is that of a "plan" while its content and focus is on some kind of strategy.

• Strategic planning is an expression that describes some kind of planning that is "strategic" which implies couple things; (1) long-term horizon that could be 5 years or more, and (2) emphasis on the value and significance of this kind of planning towards the future, success and failure of the subject entity.

The difference might not be that vivid and clear when referring to planning. However, it may become clearer when we talk about "strategy consultants" and NOT "strategic consultants". It is somehow similar to the use of "electronic" versus "electronics" as referring to an "electronic" company vs "electronics" company.  

"Goal" vs "Objective"


Some people consider "goals" to be higher level than "objectives" while others take it otherwise.  I personally take the term "objective" to be more generic and higher level than the term "goal" as in football matches where we may say 


Our objective is win the match / contest. To do so, we need to score 3 more goals than the other team.    I cannot say how this statement can be said otherwise starting with "our goal is to win the match/contest ...  how can use the term "objective" in such a statement ???

In balanced scorecards approach, the term S.M.A.R.T objective is used to say that a "smart" objective needs to be

• Specific ..   Aha ... this admits objectives are originally not specific !
• Measurable  ... implying that "objectives" are generally not tangible and not measurable
• Achievable/Actionable/Agreed ... which means that these attributes are not usually found in generic objectives.
• Repeatable/Recurring  ...  implying this objective can be repeated 
• Timely / Time-bound   ...  which puts a target time (due date or limit)

Looking at all these attributes, I can comfortably state that a "SMART objective" is basically a "goal" which usually  talks about  some specific, tangible, quantifiable and measurable result within a time limit.

"Measure" vs "Measurement" 
 
Strategy implementation using Balanced Scorecard techniques uses the term "Measure" in OMTI which stands for "Objective, Measure, Target and Initiative"

Personally, I think "measurement" is a much better term than "measure" in the above context.  Specifying a "goal" / "smart objective"  like "increase revenues" requires a "unit of measurement" which can absolute number (US $) or percentage. Then, there is the "target" value for this "goal/objective" like 10 Million US$, 30% increase, ... 


Lastly comes the "initiative" which needs to be differentiated from the term "measure" as we did above.  Initiatives are needed as the "means/vehicles" to enable reaching the "desired target" of the named "goal/objective".

I will elaborate further on this topic in a future posting showing my own approach in dealing with this topic

"KPI" vs "KRI"

I guess the biggest and worst confusion in these terms is KPI vs KRI and the overlap with goals/objectives.

If I take one of the "smart goals" / "objectives" in the OMTI model, I may say .... " One of our (smart) goal is to increase revenues by 30% every year for the next 5 years"

This says that Revenue measured in $$$ would be a Key Results Indicator (KRI) although many people tend to take it as a KPI !!!

What we need to do in order to increase the revenues would be the "actions" or "initiatives" that would lead (through proper "cause-effect" diagrams) into increasing the revenues which would be the net result matching the smart goal in this regard, and it would also be the KRI that stakeholders would like to see happening without much regard to how this is going to happen

Regarding the KPI thing, we need to go inside the "revenue generation" process probably using Business Process Management (BPM) techniques, we may be able to assess the "performance" of this process, its sub-processes down to the individual task level. We may also inspect and determine the "performance metrics" identifying where these measurements can be taken, how they can be taken, what units will be used in the measurement, what processing (if any) would be needed to produce the "Revenue" metric, where the results should go, and how frequent this measurement process needs to be done.

This is in principle how I see this thing happening !
and this explains and differentiates the KRI thing from the KPI thing

"Initiatives" vs "Actions"


"Initiatives" are more general and higher level than "actions" which are specific and very well defined. 


Generally speaking, I would say that "initiatives" may translate into "projects", "programs", "action plans", "task assignments", .... etc.  

The subject is very big as you may imagine, and it is better to take it separately in a future posing .  


All the best !