Innovation Management
Topic: can a strategic intent be
too ambitious ?
Team members:
- 阮善全 M981Y208
- 陳一靈 M981A209
Defined
 Strategic intent is a high-level statement of
the means by which your organization will
achieve its vision. It is a statement of design
for creating a desirable future (stated in
present terms). Simply, a strategic intent is a
company's vision of what it wants to achieve
in the long term.
 “An ambitious and compelling dream which
provides emotional and intellectual energy for
the company and defines the journey to the
future.”( Gary Hamel)
Purpose of Strategic Intent
 The logic, uniqueness and discovery that
make your strategic intent come to life are
vitally important for employees. They have to
understand, believe and live according to it.
 Expression of strategic intent is to help
individuals and organizations share the
common intention to survive and continue or
extend themselves through time and space.
Defining Strategic Intent
 Sense of Direction includes an
understanding about the long-term market or
competitive position that a firm aims to build
over the next decade. Your sense of direction
should be a view of the future that conveys a
unifying and personalizing sense of direction.
Defining Strategic Intent
 Sense of Discovery. Your strategic intent
should retain a sense of discovery and
excitement about the future. This helps create
a competitively unique outlook and gives
employees the opportunity to explore new
competitive territory.
Defining Strategic Intent
 Sense of Destiny. Strategic intent has an
emotional edge to it and it should be a goal
that both you and your employees perceive
as inherently worthwhile.
Can strategic intent be too ambitious?
 Having a sense of the possible means taking
the blinders off. To those constrained by
traditional corporate thinking, strategic intent
may appear reminiscent of tools like strategic
positioning or SWOT (strengths, weaknesses,
opportunities, threats)
 Nothing could be further from the truth.
Companies deploying such approaches seek
only to attack markets with products/services
their existing competencies and functional
capabilities have to offer.
Can strategic intent be too ambitious?
 "given the athletic condition of our current
corporate body, what sport are we able to
play best?"
Can strategic intent be too ambitious?
 Kingsly Gillette, inventor of the safety razor, founded
the Gillette Company in 1901. Over the next 85
years, it grew to $2.7 billion in sales, with a market
capitalization in 1986 of $2.9 billion—or about 1x of
sales. Over the last 8 years (ending in 1994), its
sales have more then doubled to $6.1 billion. More
amazing, its market capitalization shot up to $16
billion—or nearly 3x of sales.
 Fighting for its life in the "corporate takeover" 80's—
once in 1986 against Revlon, a second against
Konison and Partners in 1988—Gillette decided to
hone in at what it did best: razors. While shedding
itself of 16 non-core companies, Gillette once again
re-focused on the rallying cry within its strategic
intent, "There is always a better way to shave."
 Emulating highly successful high-tech firms, Gillette
first identified the technologies need to deliver the
next generation shaving system. Those technologies
were plastics, metal-forming know how, and high
speed assembly. The first two are competencies, the
latter is a capability.
 Then the company began a list of "did you knows" to
identify and communicate the R&D investments to
master those competencies. Did you know springloaded blades can overcome facial bumps and
valleys? Did you know that lasers weld metal with
little (blade-defected induced, nick-causing,
blood-flowing) distortion?
 Gillette did not possess the laser technology
that it had identified as a core competency. It
went to the outside market to find it. None
existed there either. So, the company
decided to develop the competency itself.
 Combining all the (some new) competencies
yielded the revolutionary product "Sensor
Razor System." This technically superior
product still commands a premium price.
Gillette has sold over 200 million Sensor
systems since its 1990 launch.
Question and Answer