Axiom on Strategy: Some Will Counsel, We Teach

Axiom teaches strategy - Axiom Blog

Axiom on Strategy: Some Will Counsel, We Teach

My colleague, Rob Beachy, and I just lead a strategy workshop for the Minnesota Chapter of the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). Some will counsel you on strategy. Axiom teaches it. We’re extending that here with some thoughts from Axiom on strategy.

PDMA is a global community of professional members whose skills, expertise, and experience power the most recognized and respected innovative companies in the world.

The PDMA Body of Knowledge Training is a certification course that covers the content of the PDMA Body of Knowledge (BoK). It was developed to enhance the knowledge and skills of product managers preparing for the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certification exam.

The Training is a comprehensive eight-week professional development program covering the fundamentals and principles of product development and can be applied to a wide-range of industries. It’s especially helpful to new product development professionals, managers, executives without product management training and members of product development teams wanting to gain better understanding of new product development and product management.

The curriculum is based on the following knowledge areas:

  1. Strategy
  2. Portfolio management
  3. New products process
  4. Culture, organization and teams
  5. Tools and metrics
  6. Market research
  7. Life-cycle management
  8. Program review, certificate distribution

Here are some highlights from our session focused on strategy:

  • Strategy gives employees overall context for the company and product innovation
  • Strategy is an organization’s game plan for achieving long-term objectives
  • All employees of an organization should understand the company’s overall mission, vision and strategy because it leads to a shared mindset and strong corporate culture
  • Since employees will spend most of their time in one area of the organization, knowing how all the pieces fit together build context and perspective around how their work fits into the bigger picture
  • Culture eats strategy for breakfast!
  • While there should be one overarching corporate strategy, there are many sub-strategies that compliment and direct functional objectives
  • Utilizing a strategic frameworks helps determine the best strategy for a given situation
  • Strategy frameworks are tools used to frame business thinking and guide decision making about products and projects. It’s visual representation of how these elements contribute to the mission, values and goals (MVG) of an organization
  • Remember, there are many factors you cannot account for in strategic planning, including new competitors, customer wants and needs and unexpected opportunities. This means that most strategies do not succeed as intended.
  • Strategy is a process; not an event. It is not a rule book. It needs to be routinely tested and adjusted based on internal and external factors.

Managing strategy is this and much more. The PDMA course on strategy is two hours and Axiom sessions are taught in half- to full-day formats.

If you would like to know more about improving your organizations strategic planning, consider joining PDMA. Information on PDMA membership is available on their website.

For corporate clients, Axiom can provide private training sessions for your team. You will get proprietary strategy framework tools and training developed by our team. Join the following market leaders like Michelin, Coca-Cola, Go-Jo, Kohler, Toro and 3-M that have utilized Axiom strategies to bring category winning products to market.

To talk about your strategy and training needs, contact Rob rbeachy@axiomcom.com

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