About the Book
Strategic Value Creation shows how senior business leaders can design and execute a data-driven strategy for their organizations to ensure that value creation is focused on the customer segments most integral to business success.
Value creation underpins any successful business and businesses that fail to create unique value for their customers will struggle to survive. This book demonstrates how to recognize when strategy, thinking and actions are flawed, how to correct these and how to devise and implement an effective strategy that unlocks the power of value creation. It provides the practical tools necessary to put strategic theories and frameworks into practice and explains the data needed at every step.
Strategic Value Creation shares the powerful 4Ds framework for strategy execution: Diagnose today, Design tomorrow, Draw the plan and Deliver with data. This framework outlines how to use data for diagnosis, analyse value factors for customer segmentation, determine the value factors their customers value the most and ensure differentiation from competitors. It also covers how to track and measure performance against stated objectives and risks, improve board packs, board back commentary and board meeting effectiveness, and capture and categorize actions, ensuring they are managed effectively.
Table of Contents:
- Section - ONE: INTRODUCTION;
- Chapter - 01.1: Data-Driven Value Creation;
- Chapter - 01.2: Challenges;
- Chapter - 01.3: Core foundations and methods;
- Section - TWO: DIAGNOSE TODAY AND DESIGN TOMORROW;
- Chapter - 02.1: Introduction;
- Chapter - 02.2: Value factors;
- Chapter - 02.3: How to segment and target customers;
- Chapter - 02.4: How to understand your competitor landscape;
- Chapter - 02.5: The Value Chain System (VCS);
- Chapter - 02.6: Integrated strategy;
- Section - THREE: DRAW THE PLAN;
- Chapter - 03.1: Introduction;
- Chapter - 03.2: Risk and challenge management;
- Chapter - 03.3: Objectives – milestones, measures and dependencies;
- Chapter - 03.4: The Plan on a Page (POAP);
- Section - FOUR: DELIVER THE PLAN WITH THE SUPPORT OF DATA;
- Chapter - 04.1: Introduction;
- Chapter - 04.2: Action management (board and meeting packs);
- Chapter - 04.3: Forums and meetings;
- Chapter - 04.4: Getting things done in a team;
- Section - FIVE: USING DATA;
- Chapter - 05.1: Master data management;
- Chapter - 05.2: Data collection and calculations;
- Chapter - 05.3: Answer the ‘why?’ – understanding causality through leading and lagging indicators;
- Section - SIX: BRING IT ALL TOGETHER;
- Chapter - 06.1: Continual maintenance of your value landscape – your Fourth Road Bridge
About the Author :
Rupert Morrison is an industry leader and entrepreneur in data-driven business. He is the founder and CEO of Arahi and was previously the CEO and co-founder of Concentra Analytics. He is the author of Data-Driven Organizational Design and Organizational Planning and Analysis, both published by Kogan Page, and is based in London, UK.
Jon Andrew is co-founder of Arahi. He has over 30 years' experience in value creation, working alongside CEOs and management teams, and is based in London, UK.
Review :
"A fun book to read! It is informative and personal. There are so many insights covered to agree with. Concepts are distilled into pragmatic tools that make them easily applicable. The passion with which the book is written gives life to its theory and concepts. This embodies one of its ideas, that strategy is about passion which powers people to do great things."
"I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. It's a collection of valuable insights. It focusses on how to streamline board documents, so they are not only better but have significantly more impact in helping to steer businesses properly. Ultimately, the board is held accountable, and businesses are run by the board through the board meetings. Board meetings are a function of board documents, and we have all lived with poor board documentation and often equally poor meetings. I believe that Rupert and Jon's understanding and ideas to improve strategy and run businesses, in which board documentation is key, are invaluable. This book is infused with hard-won wisdom. I would recommend this read for anyone remotely interested in organizations, business or strategy at any level."
"An excellent book for anyone implementing or guiding strategic value creation. Rather than focussing on a specific aspect, it captures the full process from its thought-provoking introduction, methodical approach and tools for effective implementation. This isn't just a one-time read; it's a reference to revisit."
"A timely reminder of some of what I had previously learned and a provoking challenge to my current thinking and behaviour, in an environment that only seems to become more challenging. Immensely approachable, Strategic Value Creation caused me to reflect, consider and then go back for more."
"A book that distils, clarifies and synthesises the leading theories on strategy in a way that is invaluable to our business. I must have read 40 books on strategy. Strategic Value Creation is a masterful synthesis of what, until now, appeared to be competing ideas. An indispensable guide and reference book for every entrepreneur working on an audacious goal."
"For those feeling the strain of turning strategy into reality, this is a very good guide. Strategic Value Creation empowers you to craft a concrete, actionable plan using core principles of competitive strategy. It's a practical guide that managers from any industry can make a companion in their day-to-day decision-making."
"Laying out a clear, compelling and insightful framework for thinking about strategy and value creation, Strategic Value Creation is founded on a rich vein of research, whilst being packed with practical tools and approaches grounded in real-world application. It draws on Rupert and Jon's decades of experience to provide CEOs and boards with a route-map for strategy design and execution, with a particular emphasis on driving value creation in a private equity context."
"Every business strategy book I have read has been based on a formula of starting with a long-winded theory and methodology and then repeating that theory and methodology in each chapter of the book. Strategic Value Creation provides an incisive and tremendously useful synthesis of multiple theories, illustrated with real human experiences, and then grounds them in applicable actions that can be taken by any business leader the very same day. It's a daily handbook to leading a business."
"A must-read for everyone involved in strategy development and value creation. Rupert and Jon build on the existing know-how and skilfully enhance the body of knowledge. The book is a future classic full of wisdom, insights and actionable frameworks from authors who have not only done the research but created value for share- and stakeholders in the real world. In particular, boards will see value in a well-structured strategy/value creation process, clearly established metrics, systematic tracking and the synthesis thereof in dashboards that provide the insights they need for their decision-making processes."
"A must-read for anyone embarking on a private equity journey - whether as a manager, investor, chief of staff or NED. By bridging the theory with the practical, this book will help guide you through the challenges, avoid the pitfalls and make the most of the opportunities. It provides academic frameworks and real-life case studies to bring it all to life. Jon and Rupert have proven themselves perfectly placed to help readers navigate the minefield of high-growth situations."
"A comprehensive and important insight into the world of value creation. Both newcomers and experienced practitioners will find this an invaluable, accessible and practical reference tool."
"They have actually cracked the code and developed the ultimate toolkit for CEO's, faced with jumping off the wooden plank and into the world of private equity. With all those board meetings to prepare for, strategy sessions, operational and financial reporting deadlines, sustainability reports, (oh and running a business!), etc. I can tell you that you only have time to keep one guidebook to hand. And this book hits you straight out of the blocks - get the right culture, the right talent, all agree on a strategy, get the funding, develop a viable economic model and you're in good shape. As a team, you're all in the Maori waka, paddling in the same direction like your lives depend on it! Please read every page of this book, keep it in your bag at all times and if you're fortunate enough to meet Jon or Rupert, you'll probably be happy to acknowledge that you owe them that pint of ale!"
"Without a clear and well communicated plan and process for sharpening the team' focus on value creation delivering investor returns is impossible - this is a first class guide to planning, implementing and monitoring value creation from Rupert, Jon and the team at Arahi."
"This is the first business book I have read that creates a clear thread from strategy through to value creation and then to the contents of the board report. It is the reference book all ambitious board members should have in their briefcase."
"This practical and thoughtful work provides the structure to drive effective decisions, the tools that enable leadership teams to create a plan that delivers tangible value and shares the wisdom that Rupert and Jon have gathered through their own demonstrable business successes. We have applied value creation planning in our own business. It is a 'north star' for the whole business as well as enabling alignment with shareholders and the rest of the business."
"Jon and Rupert are the UK experts in the field of creating equity value for PE firms and the management teams they work with. If you want a guide on how to appraise your business and plot the path to maximising its value, this book is essential reading."
"An excellent fusion of some of the most powerful strategy concepts, brought together and overlaid with Jon and Rupert's broad and deep experience. Its guidance on starting with a focus on purpose and vision, while putting in place the foundations for growth will make this book relevant to businesses at any stage of their growth. With clear language and a practical and repeatable methodology, this book will be a useful tool for anyone interested in designing and implementing strategy."
"Jon and Rupert's passion for value creation jumps out of every page. They are inherently teachers with high degrees of self-awareness and reflection on just how difficult this is. To you, the reader, they are honest - this is an immensely challenging and never-ending process to build better organisations. With genuine care they have provided a guide of distilled wisdom that should be a constant friend and companion. This is a book that needs re-reading, book marking, dog-earring and to be actively practiced. In doing so, you'll see the clear intent of the authors to pass on their accumulated wisdom and that of many others to give you the best chance of breakout success."
"A challenging and thought provoking read that is a must have for any CEO in the PE environment. It is concise, factual and jargon busting. It contains a step-by-step guide to formulating your strategy, and most importantly offers the tools with clear insight in how to execute and deliver it. As the CEO of Nexgen, with Jon as our Chair, I have lived, tried, tested and executed our value creation plan based on the easily digestible and guiding principles set out in this book."
