270 Handbook of research on strategy process asked about initial ideas for strategic changes, so I needed information from the leadership team as well as students and staff to get a broader perspective. I quickly learned some of the most important strengths and weaknesses of the program which directly impact the strategy formulation. From a strength perspective, the business school maintained a top 20 reputation, counted many alumni in consulting, and had a committed leadership team that believed consulting to be a priority. On the nega- tive side, current interest in consulting courses and the concentration had dwindled, the consulting program was isolated from the core courses and faculty, and alumni were not extensively engaged in helping students prepare for and land jobs in the consulting field. Ironically, what some key constituents were concerned about was the lack of a coherent, consistent and exciting strategy for the program. So, my first ‘official’ activities related to strategy creation took place prior to assuming the new position. I interviewed many different people to get a sense of the strengths and weaknesses of the program as it existed. I also floated hypotheses as to what might help the program and paid particular attention to the reaction I received as the ideas were discussed. The hypothesis-driven approach was ingrained in me during my time at McKinsey and a methodology I research and teach to students in my consulting classes (Friga, 2009). My first ‘artifact’ was created during this process and is shown below (Figure 12.2). It represented my ‘draft’ ideas as to the mission and priorities for the consulting and related programs over the next three years. I also included some key performance metrics that would give me focus as to what we were trying to achieve with the program. Note that the documented strategy was shaped greatly by conversations during the interview process and is only intended to be a guide. I did feel it would be helpful (to me and others) to actually take a stand and document at least the preliminary plan for future reference.
EXTERNAL ANALYSIS Theory
After completing the internal analysis, I moved to Step 2, the external analysis. The external components of the aforementioned SWOT analy- sis are threats and opportunities. When I teach these concepts, I stress that the threats are potential negative external issues related to our organization’s performance and achievement of competitive advantage.
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