The familiar territory of the Business Coach is in answering the question “What must I do to improve my performance?” Much has been written and more offered by coaches on demonstrating the efficacy of coaching in meeting the bottom line issues of business in the public and private sector. And although some of the claims made for coaching seem fantastic, most would agree with Daniel Goleman’s assessment of the Coach as Manager that coaching “may not scream performance” but it certainly delivers it.

“I’ve always found the experience of working with you both a positive and constructive one. The main that has enhanced this experience is to draw on your considerable insight and experience of working in the public sector”

But how good is coaching at the longer term and the strategic? Can the principles of a non-directive approach and a very focussed process aimed at an individually tailored and wholly owned action plan be harnessed to answer the other kind of questions that Chief Executives ask: “What do I have to do to get there?” and “Where is there?”

“Our experience of working with Strategic Positioning Ltd has been very positive and supportive. You have shown a very comprehensive understanding of issues facing NHS organisations which you drew upon during your work”

Strategic Positioning Ltd has been set up to help those who need to address questions of this kind come up with practical solutions which will improve performance in the long term by making a strategic “step-change” into the future. So, how does it work? All of the steps and examples which follow are real and born of the experience of coaching Directors and Chief Executives in the Public and Private Sector - the only difference from reality being although each of these issues has been covered they are not necessarily covered in this order and the starting point varies:

• What is my organisation for? - every organisational business plan begins with a mission or set of goals around those issues which are unique to the organisation and give its reason for existence. But it’s interesting how little time is spent on these overt goals by directors and managers in such organisations. Mark Moore in his book “Creating Public Value” identifies an important reason for this - particularly in the Public Sector - where Senior Executives have to spend a considerable amount of time ensuring they have a mandate to act agreed with their political bosses and once this is agreed, they then have to ensure that they correctly interpret this mandate into a programme of delivery so that those who actually pay for the service, (taxpayers), know that they are getting what they want. Ken Kizer, who turned round the Veterans’ Administration in the United States, has put this more powerfully in the sense of a major re-focussing of organisational function from hospital care to health care - this simple but important change enabled him to radically rejuvenate the whole of the Veterans’ Administration. Understanding this fundamental difference between what’s written in the Business Plan and how things work is critical to understanding why your organisation is there and critical from a Chief Executive’s point of view, what your role is.

"You understand the context and history within which we are working and this brings with it immense credibility and yet you are, I think, still seen as being impartial and not representing anyone’s agenda"

• How should I be spending my time managing this organisation? - Chief Executives are a combination of Chief Operating Officer, Lead Strategist and Director of External Affairs. No Chief Executive I have met rates less than 65% time spent as Chief Operating Officer, (and many rate themselves as much higher), but all recognise they need to spend more time on strategy and external affairs. The Chief Operating Office focuses exclusively on the bottom line and ensuring its delivery. And Chief Executives would link their success in achieving this to successful achievement of their role. But as Michael Gould points out in his excellent book “Strategic Control”, being clear about the bottom line and what it represents is something that all Chief Executives must address. And Gould is clear that the kind of bottom line which is associated with hiking profit or balancing financial resources is important, but ultimately non-critical in making the organisation both successful and surviving in a changing environment. Their survey of companies simply found too many obsessed by the bottom line and unable to adjust and adapt to changes in external conditions or important strategic changes which affected their business as represented by key stake holders.

“The experience was good because of focus; listening and addressing all issues raised. Also, where change of direction was required, it was explained in a logical way”
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