I was watching two members of one of my client’s team arguing over where the end point of the handover was. This seemed to be a good point to raise; unfortunately the end date had been and gone by two months. How you agree the end point has more to do with than just how the business works – how do the people work within the business? As handovers usually have a people element to them it is important to ensure that the capability of the individuals is also present. When you define the end point of a project it is worth describing this as a scene – what will the people be doing (behaving) once you walk away? And where are they now – can they do these activities? This is the gap that needs to be closed. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk

One of the challenges that we need to consider when developing strategies is: - can it take the bumps that we might see on the way? There are some very good ways to create and design strategies for businesses, but the acid test question is the one mentioned above. How do you use this approach? Very simple - work out what kinds of factors could adversely affect your business (but aren't on the current horizon) and then consider whether your strategy could withstand the bump that this would cause. Depending on the result, reflect against this 'scenario' and decide whether you want to take the risk. Otherwise alter the strategy or come up with a plan 'B' should the situation arise. Considering the weird and the wonderful when it comes to strategic design is a valuable approach. Smartspeed Consulting Limited 'For When Results Matter' www.smartspeed.co.uk