A common adage in the management consulting business is that efficiency and effectiveness are completely different measurements. An organization can be extremely efficient, getting high productivity from their workforce and producing their product or service with very little waste or churn, yet be totally ineffective in meeting their objectives if, for instance, their product or service is not accepted in the marketplace. This difference is often distilled to the statement “efficiency is about doing things right, while effectiveness is about doing the right things.”

The Seven S approach is a framework that focuses on guiding managers to improving, not just our processes, but our entire strategic approach to the business.The Seven S approach is a framework that focuses on guiding managers to improving, not just our processes, but our entire strategic approach to the business.

So what are the Seven S’s, and how do they fit together to help consultants and managers improve business performance? Here’s a brief walk through of the attributes of the Seven Ss.

#1. Strategy: The overriding goal or objective that the enterprise wishes to achieve, and the course of action it intends to take to reach that goal. From the viewpoint of IT, the key question here is often about alignment. Are the activities of the IT staff focused on achieving the strategic goals of the organization? Is there a forward-looking IT plan or road-map that illustrates how the IT function will drive towards to long-term strategic objectives of the firm? Is the CIO involved in strategy formulation or just an implementer? Every IT professional has experienced situations in which a manager or executive becomes enamored of some technical solution, often sold to her by a sales representative as the “end-all fix,” and IT finds itself devoting all its energies to implementing a product that is disconnected from the firm’s strategic goals.

#2. Structure: The manner in which the enterprise is organized, and the relationships between the entities, such as departments, field offices, etc. Is the organization authoritarian, like the military, or decentralized or federated? How do internal processes and human resources work together to achieve the goals? In my consulting experience, I’ve seen many firms that want to migrate to an e-commerce approach to sales, and yet see e-commerce enablement as a project, rather than as a structural problem that needs to be solved. No matter how great the e-commerce engine an organization builds, if it’s internal organization and structure is not modified to adapt to this new channel, it has very little chance of success.

#3. Systems: Not just information systems and infrastructure, but also the processes and the functions that enable the organization to work, such as recruiting, accounting, and procurement. From e-commerce to data warehousing and knowledge management, and all across the array of processes and systems that companies employ to deliver their products and services, the ability to make the right technology decisions, to optimize processes, and to enhance productivity are make-or-break elements of success.

#4. Staff: The human resources that actually accomplish the work, and the recruiting, incentives, and compensation practices that encourage them to achieve. An organization’s ability to attract and retain the best talents and to keep them motivated and productive is key to execution of the enterprises goals. All the strategic innovation in the world cannot compensate for an unmotivated staff or low productivity.

#5. Style: The elusive “corporate culture” is captured here; is the enterprise customer focused and quality driven or focused on maximizing profitability at any cost? Does the enterprise strive to build a cohesive team of its staff, or does the organization view its workforce as a series of interchangeable hands-for-hire?

#6. Skills: The unique competencies that drive competitive advantage. From the “hard” technical skills of designing products and managing projects to the “soft” skills of communication and teamwork, staff capabilities are essential elements of strategic success. This element also addresses organizational skills: As we’ve recently learned in the case of General Motors, the ability of an organization to develop products or services that the marketplace values is the differentiating factor in the market battlefield.

#7. Shared Values: The core beliefs and attitudes that drive the enterprise. Values are not the mission of the company — that should be captured in the firm’s strategy. Values are about behaviors, taking the form of statements like “we’ll never sacrifice customer satisfaction for short term profit” or “we always thank the customer for choosing us.”

Seven S is just a conceptual framework; therefore, it doesn’t tell us how to fix those areas that require development. By applying your experience, reviewing the ideas found in the literature (such as Good to Great and other business classics), enlisting the insights and suggestions of members of the organization, and applying disciplines like Six Sigma where appropriate, you can help firms apply a consistent approach to strategy development and execution and improve their results and competitive position.

Following are some steps that you can take to resolve conflicts with your managers.

• Don’t make a plan without talking to your manager first. This one has always been a huge hurdle for me, given that I’m so tactical and immediately start thinking in flowcharts and mock-ups as soon as I’m presented with a problem. But it’s imperative that you not come up with a fixed plan of action on a goal without first conferring with the manager who is going to be responsible for making that plan a reality. The greatest risk here is that you talk through a project with your peers or—yikes—your boss and set some level of expectation that you feel pressure to meet. No offense, but your idea could be off-base, and when it comes to tactics, managers who report to you are better sources than your boss. They actually do it every day.
• Answer the “Why?” question first. When you first roll out a new project to your manager, come with a sheet of desired metrics or goals and a quick synopsis of the benefits to the company. A PowerPoint is probably overkill here; just tell the manager what the company wants to accomplish in general terms. The correct starting point is: “The company is going to outsource some desktop support in the third quarter, and we need to get some user environments standardized,” not “We’re moving to Office XP, so go shop for some upgrade prices.” Make it clear that the goals are not negotiable, but the path to them is still to be determined.
• Compare notes. Have a follow-up meeting with your manager in a few days and evaluate what he or she has come up with. This is one context where I think it’s best to tone down the manager/employee vibe and just collaborate. This atmosphere lets you present your own ideas in a way that your manager won’t resent.
• Be sure to include some input from your manager. The worst thing you can do is ask someone what he or she thinks and then completely blow off the person’s ideas. With managers, this risk is amplified, because they think a lot—maybe more than you know. Even if some of the feedback is pretty far off, mold some of your manager’s ideas into usable forms and include them in the plan. If everything you hear is just wacko, you have a deeper problem than just the project.
• Look out for the “Just tell me what to do” response. This is the big red flag that you’ve probably gone too far and actually are “micromanaging” your manager into frustration and maybe even fatalism. You don’t want managers to do what you tell them; you want them to understand your goals and then go make them happen (believe me, it’s a lot less work). If managers just throws up their hands and check out of a project, you can bet the ground-zero staff is going to do the same thing, and you’ll find yourself pounding out Java code to meet a deadline instead of coming up with your next big idea.