Strategy and Resilience: Sustaining the Healthy Growth of Your Company Is Your Business

By Ramon Martinez

Strategy and resilience are common terms, but most researchers and authors have come up short in defining what they mean and how to achieve them.

Ramon Martinez, a retired lieutenant colonel with the U.S. Air Force, solves that problem with this business guidebook in which he:

introduces the subjects of business strategy and resilience;

dispels myths about strategy, corrects misconceptions, and clarifies what strategy and resilience means;

shows how guiding principles, a vision, and a mission are instrumental to doing business in a complex and fast-paced world filled with change;

shares ways to create a strong business strategy so companies can thrive even during tough times; and

connects it all with a profound yet dynamic discussion on leadership.

Throughout the book, Martinez makes the case that business strategy and resilience work hand in hand. Business strategy helps you overcome obstacles to success, and resilience allows you to adapt to changes in order to sustain healthy growth over time.

This book is for everyone working in a company, for any person who runs or manages a business, for students studying business, and for anyone wishing to learn something new. Filled with collaborative exercises, anecdotes, clear definitions, illustrations, models, and examples from real life, the business strategy you develop using this book enables you to build a thriving business that lasts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 27, 2016
• ISBN: 9781480836105

Ramon Martinez

Lieutenant Colonel Ramon Martinez, USAF (retired), is a senior consultant in business strategy, management insight, and public policy. He converges his unique professional experiences and insights to help companies sustain healthy growth and build resilience. A popular speaker, Ramon has served as keynote speaker for a Fortune 10 company. Ramon has worked in the private sector as president of Advanzeon Solutions, Inc., a publicly held healthcare management company. He has also worked as vice president of Genetics and IVF Institute. Colonel Martinez served a twenty-year military career in the regular component of the US Air Force. He climbed the ranks as a combat crew commander, test director and program manager of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as an assistant professor of philosophy at the US Air Force Academy, as a deputy secretary of the Inter-American Defense Board, as a US National Defense Fellow at the University of Miami, as Chief of Latin American Strategy of US Southern Command, and as an interim director of the US Southern Command Washington Field Office. Ramon has served in various leadership positions in the nonprofit sector as well. He was president/CEO of Progreso Latino, Inc., the state of Rhode Island’s flagship Latino empowerment agency and largest bilingual, multicultural community-based organization. Ramon was assistant director of strategic planning at the South Florida Workforce Board. He also taught as an adjunct professor of philosophy at Miami-Dade Community College. Ramon is recipient of the Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce of Rhode Island Community Leader of 2009, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Providence Branch’s Thurgood Marshall Award of 2008, the NAACP’s highest award, 2008 Service Person of the Year Award of Sigma Nu Chapter Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., and the Providence Phoenix Newspaper Local Hero of 2008. You can contact the author at [e-mail].

Book preview

STRATEGY

AND

RESILIENCE

SUSTAINING THE HEALTHY GROWTH OF YOUR COMPANY IS YOUR BUSINESS

RAMON MARTINEZ

LIEUTENANT COLONEL, USAF, RETIRED

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Copyright © 2016 Ramon Martinez.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The information, ideas, and suggestions in this book are not intended to render professional advice. Before following any suggestions contained in this book, you should consult your personal accountant or other financial advisor. Neither the author nor the publisher shall be liable or responsible for any loss or damage allegedly arising as a consequence of your use or application of any information or suggestions in this book.

Archway Publishing

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.archwaypublishing.com

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright © 1996, 2004. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3609-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3610-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016913810

Archway Publishing rev. date: 1/11/2017

CONTENTS

Prologue: Why This Book? Why Now?

What Is This Book About?

How To Use This Book

Part I: What Is Strategy? What Is Resilience?

Chapter 1: The State Of Affairs In Strategy Today

Chapter 2: A New Understanding And Approach To Strategy

Chapter 3: The Anatomy Of Business Strategy

Chapter 4: Change Is Everywhere, Yet Change Is Nowhere

Chapter 5: Resilience

Chapter 6: Business Strategy, Lag, And Resilience

Chapter 7: Strategiology

Chapter 8: The Infusion Of Leadership

ParT II: YOUR Conditions

Exercise 1: Identify, Outline, And Shed Light On Company Mandates

Exercise 2: Your Company’s Existing Business Model

Exercise 3: Your Company’s Existing Business Function

Exercise 4: Your Company’s Existing Area Of Excellence

Exercise 5: Your Company’s Existing Competitive Advantage

Exercise 6: Resilience And The Adaptive Business Cycle

Exercise 7: The Competition Profile

Exercise 8: Conditions Awareness And Comprehension

Part III: THE BAcking

Chapter 9: Interlude

Exercise 9: Mission Statement

Exercise 10: Guiding Principles Statement

Exercise 11: Vision Statement

Part IV: Your Business Function

Chapter 10: Interlude

Exercise 12: Your Company’s New Business Function

Exercise 13: Your Company’s New Area Of Excellence

Exercise 14: Your Company’s New Competitive Advantage

Part V: Your Tentative Solution

Chapter 11: Frameworks To Develop And Evaluate Pathways

Exercise 15: Pathways

Exercise 16: Evaluating Pathways

Part VI: WHat Your Tentative Solution Means

Chapter 12: What Does Your Tentative Solution Mean?

Exercise 17: Business Strategy Profile

Exercise 18: Your Company’s New Business Model

Exercise 19: Susceptibility Profile

Exercise 20: Business Strategy Board

Exercise 21: Business Strategy, Lag, And Resilience

Exercise 22: Time To Update The Mandates Of Your Company

Part VII: Your Business Strategy

Exercise 23: Business Strategy Narrative

Epilogue: Continue Your Journey

Works Cited

Notes

About The Author

For my family: my mother Catalina, my son Randy, my daughter Tesla, my granddaughters Sarah and Aspen, and my son-in-law Jon.

In loving memory of my father, Ramon R. Martinez, a recipient of the Purple Heart while serving in The Korean War as a member of the 65th Infantry Regiment, affectionately known as the Borinqueneers, the Puerto Rican regiment of the United States Army.

And in fond memory of my mentor, Francisco L. Peccorini, PhD.

PROLOGUE

WHY THIS BOOK? WHY NOW?

The project of writing this book began with my interpretation of a series of conversations that I had with three friends. They were brilliant people in their own right. And they were friends in the sense that they helped me become a better person as a result of our interaction.

The first conversation was in Arlington, Virginia, with a friend named Q. He is an entrepreneur, a mathematician, and once served as a military officer. Q proffered what I considered to be thought-provoking insights during our exchanges on the topic of strategy and the critical role it plays in the world of business. Our discussions centered on the theme that businesses are set in a complex, dynamic, and interconnected world that is full of change, uncertainty, and randomness.

Q observed that entrepreneurs deal with the world of making, doing, and learning to solve problems for customers. But he believed that theory generally follows practice in the world of business. He claimed that this was a consequence of the successes, the failures, and the lessons learned.

For example, Q would point out that entrepreneurs are preoccupied with working with the conditions that they face right in front of them in that moment. They generally puzzle about their business situations; they do not deliberate about what to do in a long and drawn-out process. They do not have that luxury. They must do something quick to solve a problem. So entrepreneurs often experiment with lines of action in an effort to solve problems. They stumble over them. They sometimes perform actions intuitively. They act in what appear to be arbitrary ways. And there are times that they imitate some of their fellow entrepreneurs.

As a result, Q would declare that strategy grows out of the pressures to solve problems that occur in the marketplace. This means that it is not the case that strategy comes first. It is only later that the details and consequences emerge from the actions that worked in real time. One derives a strategy as a result of an inquiry into what worked and why an action worked.

Q introduced me to resilience thinking. This occurred when we talked about an intermodal supply network management system that he wanted to develop. He claimed that while in the process of developing his system he had come to discern what he believed to be the reason why many companies fail to sustain healthy growth in the marketplace. Q put forth the thesis that many, if not most, companies lack resilience. They do not have the capacity to avoid, absorb, mitigate, and recover from the crises, disturbances, and shocks that take place in the marketplace.

In light of his understanding why many companies come and go in the marketplace, Q presented what he believed to be the enduring challenge of the world of business in the twenty-first century. How do companies develop the resilience to not merely survive, but to thrive in a world that is filled with change, risk, contingency, and uncertainty? This is a question that every entrepreneur and business leader must address and decide on.

My understanding of strategy and resilience thinking evolved in conversations with Mr. Larry Quick. Mr. Quick, also known as Laz, is a consultant from Melbourne, Australia. Laz is a well-read man in strategy and in philosophy. He garnered my respect when we collaborated in the building of the resilience of three Rhode Island cities.

Here are a few of the salient points I drew from our conversations. First the conventional model is inadequate for the crafting of a strong strategy in the twenty-first century. Second, the use of the conventional model results in the failure to create the resilience of companies. Third, most companies do not align with, or are antithetical to, the way nature works.

Just what does this mean to us? Charles Darwin’s path-breaking study of biological evolution, The Origin of Species, presents us with an insight that should help us. A professor once summarized Darwin by stating that it is not the largest, the strongest, or even the most intelligent of species that survive, but the most adaptable to change. The companies that sustain healthy growth are those that adapt to the changing conditions in their environments.

An adaptive company is an association of people that take part in an active relation with the environment. It does this to create and deliver the values that meet the needs of its customers. This means that they change the environment as they assert themselves through the performance of their functions in the environment. On the other hand, this means that a company changes as well through its interaction with the environment.

Companies that fail to sustain healthy growth lose sight of the changing conditions. And they neglect their systems and their capabilities by which they could adapt to the changes in the environment. This leads a company to become very vulnerable to—and unable to recover from—shocks, disruptions, and crises.

Resilience is a key element to the sustainment of healthy growth in a world filled with change. If you use the conventional model, your company will be sure to end up losing its resilience. It follows that the conventional model no longer works to sustain healthy growth in the twenty-first century.

Paul W. Bruno, PhD, an associate professor of philosophy, was the third person involved in the series of conversations. Dr. Bruno was a former businessman drawn to the world of philosophy. He wrote his dissertation on Immanuel Kant, the great philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment.

Dr. Bruno and I would meet at a popular local corner café to discuss topics on Kant’s moral philosophy, Kant’s theory of knowledge, and Kant’s contributions to modern philosophy. These conversations were greatly appealing to me. Kant was my special interest when I served as an assistant professor of philosophy at the US Air Force Academy, as a National Defense Fellow at the University of Miami, and as an adjunct professor at Miami-Dade Community College, Homestead Campus.

I realize that many people’s eyes begin to glaze over when the topic of philosophy comes up, but philosophy does play a role in strategy and resilience. Philosophy comes on the scene as a result of the conditions of the world that we live in and toil in.

The world in which we comport ourselves is a world where things have a tendency to go wrong; this is what we call the human condition. But this world also has the materials to help us solve our problems. We use philosophy to address how we can sustain the healthy growth of human beings given the human condition.

The problem is that confusion emerges and sets in when people do not see its usefulness. But it is the case that their confusion can vanish. This will occur when they come to learn that the varied philosophical points of view are explanations, they are explanations that address different sets of questions about how to sustain the healthy growth of human beings, and the explanations are platforms for solutions to the sustainment of healthy human growth.

So what is the usefulness of philosophy? Experience has taught me that philosophy is a collaborative enterprise that has as its steadfast dedication the removal of the scotomas that take hold in human beings. What is a scotoma? A scotoma is a blind spot that we have in our minds about our world. Scotomas filter our experiences and beliefs. They condition us to see and interpret our world in a certain way.

Scotomas arise due to our biases and the processes that we have not subjected to reflective thinking. They crop up because of the assumptions that we readily accept without critically examining them. They occur because of the parochial systems that we take on the basis of the customs and the traditions passed on to us. The biases, assumptions, and parochial systems that we do not put to the test create blind spots to the world around us.

But it is the case that scotomas can tend to have a debilitating effect on us if they pull us away from the sustainment of healthy human growth. Philosophers critically examine our most fundamental beliefs, assumptions, ideas, values, concepts, and claims about the world. They do this with the end-held-in view to help human beings avoid contributing to the deterioration of the human condition.

On the other hand, philosophers ply their crafts to help clear the way for human beings to develop new solutions that will usher in a better future. One can find in philosophical works keen insights and explanations to help us sustain healthy growth and live more fulfilling lives.

One day I reflected on what those series of conversations with the entrepreneur-military officer, the consultant, and the businessman-philosopher meant to me. First, I came to realize that those conversations mirrored the bulk of my career. My career consisted of being an entrepreneur, a senior officer in the US Air Force, a consultant, a strategist, a businessman, and a philosopher.

Second, those conversations made it clear to me that real-world knowledge and experience in the private sector and the public sector converge in me. I have enjoyed nearly forty years of experience in the world of business and the public sector.

Third, those conversations revealed to me that there exists an opportunity to pass on the knowledge and experience I can offer in a way that only a few authors can replicate. The blending of strategy, resilience, leadership, and philosophy is a diverse background and perspective that I bring to the table.

Our conversations gave birth to my sudden realization of a new insight provoked by three persistent questions, which lasted many years through carefully reading and rereading works on strategy. What is strategy in the world of business? What is resilience? How does resilience fit with strategy?

Peter F. Drucker, the remarkably astute and revered management thought leader and prolific author, insightfully asserted, What everyone knows is usually wrong.¹ It is Mr. Drucker’s claim and my interpretations of the three series of conversations mentioned above that form the basis of why I decided to write this book. Before I knew it, the book became a work that discloses how strategy and reflective thinking are two sides of the same coin. This confirmed to me the value that philosophy has in strategy.

WHAT IS THIS BOOK ABOUT?

This book has three ends-in-view. The first end-in-view is to introduce and help the reader become familiar with the subjects of business strategy and resilience. I will set out to dispel some myths about strategy. We will correct some of the misconceptions. And I will clarify what strategy and resilience means. The second end-in-view is to help the reader craft a strong business strategy. And the third end-in-view is to help the reader develop the resilience of his or her company.

This book affirms that the business of business is to solve problems for customers. Companies do this by creating and delivering value to customers. Companies that do this well for customers are most likely to end up sustaining healthy growth over the long run. Shareholders are the recipients of the capture and the enhancement of value when companies sustain healthy growth. And the pursuit and the sustainment of healthy growth is the backing of each and every business.

Some readers may hold on to the belief that what constitutes the world of business is a continuous flow of events that appears to never end and remains in a state of flux. Other readers may hold the belief that one must always seek and hold on to stability in the world of business. But it is the case that the unsettled along with the settled is how the world of business works in the twenty-first century. The business environment always reveals change, complexity, uncertainty, and risk along with the settled, the familiar, and the uniform. Companies need people with the knowledge, skills, guiding principles, leadership, and wisdom that will help them effectively navigate in this environment.

On the one hand, there appears to be a huge challenge. The main issue is that most people manifest a vague notion of what strategy and resilience mean. The fact that most people exhibit a meager grasp in understanding these two subjects within the context of business makes the challenge worse.

On the other hand, a new opportunity has emerged on the scene. Most researchers and authors have come up short in clearly defining business strategy and resilience. And most of them have been deficient in the communication of a coherent understanding of both subjects. Thus, the time is ripe for presenting the findings in this book. I wrote this book to do more than just tell good stories to support the work. The intent of this book is to help get the reader to go beyond what most everyone knows and to discuss the two subjects in the context of business.

This book makes the case that business strategy and resilience work hand in hand in