Navigating headwinds

Junior consultant Maurizio Cuttin outlines why strategy development is essential for survival and growth

At its core, governance ensures that internal operations run smoothly, embody fairness, and adhere to regulatory standards. Yet, strategic foresight is another critical dimension that often gets overshadowed. As public-purpose organisations navigate turbulent times marked by political upheaval and financial uncertainty, the vitality of forward-thinking strategy has never been more necessary.

The landscape is shifting dramatically. We're witnessing a backlash against initiatives dubbed ‘woke’ and a tightening grip on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) efforts. Adding fuel to the fire are financial thunderbolts, such as the recent National Insurance hike impacting charities and the domino effect of steep cuts to development aid budgets worldwide spurred by a pause in funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

Now, more than ever, organisations might consider getting into the habit of reassessing their objectives and the strategies devised to meet them. Relying on outdated plans is a misstep, akin to clinging to an old clock without checking if it still keeps time.

The Charity Commission itself recommends trustees regularly re-evaluate whether a charity's purposes are still relevant and necessary, as well as mapping whether its current direction and pace are suited to the times.

Failing to engage in strategic foresight is not just a missed opportunity; it can be a recipe for disaster. In today’s unpredictable world, mapping out various scenarios related to funding, operational success, and public perception becomes a crucial component of ensuring survival as well as growth.

Consider the ancient Japanese proverb: "If you get on the wrong train, get off at the next station." This underscores the importance of making timely corrections when one realises they are headed in the wrong direction. It also suggests that the longer one continues on the wrong path, the more difficult and costly it will be to get back on track. The metaphor speaks for how an individual or organisation can approach key inflection points. The longer you stay on a misguided journey, the steeper the cost of getting back on track.

Executives of public-purpose organisations might consider creating an internal culture that encourages analysis and reflection. Regardless of the challenges faced (and there are often many), there is no justification for neglecting to assess the organisation's direction. Likewise, even during periods of relative success, trustees should avoid the temptation to use recent ‘wins’ as a reason to avoid reevaluating whether an organisation is still on the right path and how it can build on existing momentum.

Introspection can also harness the innovative power of creative imagination in problem-solving. Regular strategic development can inspire teams to derive new meanings from their work, like what the Joseph Rowntree Foundation has accomplished with its Emerging Futures work. In this series, they have shifted their focus from a singular overarching vision (big-V) to exploring various possibilities for projects and leadership by conceptualising how to create new futures by reordering their perceptions of existing realities.

Complacency can be just as harmful as a reluctance to accept accountability and engage in self-reflection when things are not going as planned. Of course, often inaction is due more to shifting goalposts (political and financial) or bureaucratic complexity baked into a structure, rather a deliberate and calculated effort to side-step self-evaluation. The point still stands: if self-improvement and longevity are what organisations are looking for, they need to put in the work even when the going gets tough.

Or, to borrow a phrase from President John F. Kennedy: "Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

In sum, strategic foresight and development are not an 'extra' in governance but rather one of three crucial instruments in a symphony of driving excellence in this field: governance, leadership, and strategy, which also happen to align with GGI's core service offerings.