Making a Dream a Reality

Whenever I think about management functions, the image of a train comes to mind, with planning as the locomotive that guides and carries the rest of the functions. This historic image, although it has retained the same order, has evolved with time and technology, and today it practically flies, while boasting impressive design and automation. This “intelligent” locomotive has borne the surname "strategy" for several decades and has become highly complex in its journey, yet the public—that is, companies—have understood very little about it or have adapted it to suit their own convenience. The truth is that, from Chandler through Ansoff, Porter and so many other scholars, their attempts to describe the soul of this planning—the so-called strategy—have contributed to an increasingly accurate understanding of this concept. At first glance, it appears simple; many still fail to give it the fundamental importance it holds for a company’s success, and in fact, it is somewhat complex while at the same time extremely simple. Just over two decades ago, the tourism and hotel industry embraced and became aware of the need for strategic thinking and philosophy in its field of action, as both shield and sword to confront—and even anticipate—changes in the environment and gain a competitive advantage. However, embracing and becoming aware have not been enough to ensure that its application in our businesses, even after all these years, is not, inexplicably, still being fully and properly used. In the face of this evident complexity, Ansoff sought to explain the hierarchy of objectives and the meaning of strategy through a football team in a championship. He said: For a championship, a football team sets itself a mission: to please its supporters and win the championship; objectives: win every football match; and specific goals for every moment of every match: score many goals (goal = objective). To carry out this hierarchy of objectives, it is necessary to establish an overall strategy and continuously monitor and act upon it, moving players, changing plays, and setting different tactics and operational strategies. In this way, and to understand these hierarchical levels within the strategic plan, achieving each goal brings us closer to achieving the objectives, and achieving these brings us closer to fulfilling the mission (the more goals scored, the greater the chances of winning a match; and the more matches won, the greater the chances of winning the championship). Likewise, operational strategies and/or tactics must align with the overall strategy, enabling the objectives to be achieved. But defining this is not enough. Each and every person involved in carrying out these objectives and strategies must participate in their development and analysis, and come to understand and embrace each of these definitions as their own. All of this becomes a process requiring leaders, both overall and for each specific action, on and off the playing field. Thus, a simple plan becomes more complex and evolves into a major process in which leadership is of utmost importance, and it therefore comes to be known as Strategic Management. Previously, the management team or the president and shareholders of this team had projected a vision, a great dream, expressing their future intentions for the team’s positioning and recognition, along with a set of essential values for belonging or affiliation, which will determine the team’s direction and conduct throughout its existence. This strategic management, as a process in itself, requires a thorough understanding of the initial conditions—that is, the team’s current situation, the condition of its players, the other teams in the competition, the pitches and stadiums where each match will be played, the time of year in which the championship will take place, and so on. In short, it requires understanding our own and the competition’s strengths and weaknesses, then analysing the opportunities and threats they will face or have available during that period and, on that basis, formulating our playing tactics and strategies, as well as the overall strategy that will enable the team to achieve those objectives and its mission. One of the concepts that strategic management embraces in its direction and leadership is change; its effectiveness lies to a large extent in the adaptive and anticipatory action it takes, and in the proactivity it embraces. The Strategic Management process involves everyone and encompasses each and every activity, resource and variable within the organisation, as well as its results. This process extends from the very beginning of the dream to its awakening, fulfilment and materialisation. It is the business’s almost absolute whole, and its positioning and vital health will depend on its form and application.