AMBODE: EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT NEEDED TO REPOSITION PUBLIC SERVICE

IKEJA, Nigeria – Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has stressed that effective strategic management is a key panacea for repositioning the State’s public service.

The governor, who was represented by the Commissioner for Establishments, Training and Pensions, Dr. Akintola Benson Oke, made this assertion at the opening session of a two-day workshop tagged: ‘Effective Strategic Management for Repositioning and Higher Responsibilities’, organised by organized by the Lagos State Ministry of Establishments, Training and Pensions in conjunction with Messrs. Novo Consults Limited.

According to him, the importance of strategy, strategic planning, and strategic management has been proven and validated over the years and, in fact, over the centuries. He said at the end of any rigorous enquiry, one finds that to have an effective strategy is half the battle and to effectively manage a good strategy is everything.

“An effective strategy should be deeply understood and shared by the organization. What matters is whether the people of your organization understand and internalize the strategic direction you have articulated and can make tactical choices on their own. Strategic plans must be articulated in a manner such that operational and tactical decision-making can follow suit.

“Further more, the leading strategist must count on the employees or members of the organization to make sound tactical and operational decisions that are aligned with the desired strategic direction. To ensure that these decisions are well made, the articulated strategic direction and strategic plans must be applicable and clearly related to the issues that people face.

“It is always helpful to remember that an effective strategy provides a picture of the desired long-term future. In order to make sound day-to-day decisions, all members of the organization must be able to begin with the end in mind. All steps must ultimately keep the company on course toward the long-term objective,” he said.

He sais as a strategist, it was critical to count on timely and accurate information about prevailing relevant conditions; adding that it was essential to build and employ effective mechanisms for observing and listening to what was going on in the environment. Furthermore, he said real-time information, in turn, must feed on-going strategic and operational shifts and deployments.

In addition, he stated that an effective strategy follows a thorough and deep analysis of both the external environment and the internal capabilities of the organization. He said this was the essence of the famous SWOT model (that is, an evaluation of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). The strategist, he stressed, must understand the effects and dynamics of external entities such as competitors, suppliers, regulators and strategic partners.

He added that a sound assessment of these external factors leads to a rich understanding of threats to ward off and opportunities to pursue. The strategist must also understand the internal capabilities of his or her organization, he emphasised.

According to him, this realistic self assessment enables the organization to leverage the strengths of the organization and to shore up areas of weakness.

Indeed, in order to take advantage of intelligence gained through a SWOT analysis, the strategist must ensure that intelligence does not sit idle, but is immediately mined for insight that can be used in strategic and operational decision-making, he said.

Governor Ambode said to put this in the context of today’s dynamics, there’s need to understand that many aspects of the organisation must be held at parity across a wide swipe of the competitive landscape. He said there must be parity with competitors in the ordinary and mundane matters.