The Hare and the Tortoise: The race is not to Speedy (XXI). The goal

eleonoraescalantestrategy 25 Jun 2021 Leave a Comment

… “The tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily”…
The hare and the tortoise, a fable by Aesop

The weekend is approaching, and we all are looking forward to it. I am exquisitely delighted with the idea of commencing the strategic reflection analysis in terms of the variable “time”. The next 5 subjects outlined, are the essence of this saga. We are near to connect the dots between “time” and each of the three decision making areas of domain in Corporate Strategy.

Decisions about the growth positioning and the pace of progress (pace understood as a velocity of growth, which is also related to time). This orientation toward growth implies to resolve what is better to a company, to expand or to grow, to cut back (retrenchment), or to stay on hold and build stability. In addition, the company has to decide what products and services under the industry should be the priorities, and if not, which type of diversification is the most appropriate. And finally, if the decision is to grow, the company has to decide how to do it: through organic or internal development, through acquisition of other companies, mergers or strategic alliances.
Decisions about how to perform our portfolio analysis. This responds to choices about management of enterprises with multiple businesses grouped under a product portfolio in the industries and/or markets in which it competes. Usually, an enterprise starts to sell one type of product for different segments of people. Then it grows to various product lines that end up becoming business units or business segments. Once this happen, corporate strategy is fundamentally obliged to respond how much of time and money should be spent on the best products and business units to ensure that they continue to be successful? And then corporate strategy decisions in portfolio analysis answer the question, how much of the company time and resources must be depleted in developing new products or adjacencies’ products?
Decisions about corporate parenting. This responds to choices (of what, where, how) about resources and capabilities that must be used and related from the corporate headquarters (the parent of the business units) to create value in each of its businesses.

Until today we have disclosed the main theory arguments and facts about how is “Corporate Strategy” shown by Strategy professors in business schools all over the world. Even if you don´t take a course named as “Corporate Strategy”, I am sure that the domain I have explained to you during this saga, has been segmented in several courses that you will recognize immediately as components of what I have disclosed.

Before proceeding further, today it will be a light reading. Why? Because I will leave you with a huge homework. I wish you to go back and re-read the whole material (7 previous publications) that I exposed about time. I will provide the links below this paragraph.

It is imperative that you remember all what I have written about time, because next week our aim is to cover 5 subjects of our outline: How time affects growth, how time affects stability, how time affects retrenchment, how time affects priorities and how time affects corporate parenting.

Today I would like to give thanks to the man that I adore with all my soul, with whom I will marry and set up a family. Alejandro is my source of inspiration to write what I write. In the middle of this month, which is the month of my birthday, I am lucky and joyful of being heterosexual. “God’s model of heterosexual marriage in the Bible is originally considered as the only legally and morally accepted model of matrimony”. It is a benediction to be free as a heterosexual woman. Thank you for reading to me, and blessings from El Salvador.

Foresseing my engagement with Alejandro Guillermo Lozano Artolachipi. After we marry (if God wishes), my goal is to slow down, and steady stay with him and cherish his life, living our present and future as it was supposed to have been 20 years ago.

Disclaimer: Illustrations in Watercolor are painted by Eleonora Escalante. Other types of illustrations or videos (which are not mine) are used for educational purposes ONLY. Nevertheless, the majority of the pictures, images, or videos shown on this blog are not mine. I do not own any of the lovely photos or images posted unless otherwise stated.