Balancing Hard and Soft Factors…

01. June 2023

In our recent iBsing Pioneers call we delved into the topic of ‘๐ˆ๐๐ ๐Œ๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ ๐€๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ.’ In three breakout groups, we brainstormed essential questions required to assess the functionality of Integrated Business Planning (IBP) and identified numerous areas that warrant investigation.

First and foremost, let’s focus on ๐‘๐„๐’๐”๐‹๐“๐’: Are our end-to-end planning and execution processes delivering the expected financial performance and meeting the needs of our customers and organization’s purpose? The three groups dedicated 12% of questions to analysing results.

Next, let’s examine the critical ๐‡๐€๐‘๐ƒ ๐…๐€๐‚๐“๐Ž๐‘๐’: Are our process and system capabilities, as well as people’s competencies, effective and efficient? A share of 38% of questions revolved around hard factors.

Finally letโ€™s check the ๐’๐Ž๐…๐“ ๐…๐€๐‚๐“๐Ž๐‘๐’: Do the functions and individuals across the organization share a common vision, and do people exhibit best-self behaviours in collaboration, accountability, and continuous learning? Remarkably, 50% of questions focused on the soft factors.

๐‘ป๐’“๐’‚๐’…๐’Š๐’•๐’Š๐’๐’๐’‚๐’ ๐‘ฐ๐‘ฉ๐‘ท ๐’Ž๐’‚๐’•๐’–๐’“๐’Š๐’•๐’š ๐’‚๐’”๐’”๐’†๐’”๐’”๐’Ž๐’†๐’๐’•๐’” ๐’‘๐’“๐’†๐’…๐’๐’Ž๐’Š๐’๐’‚๐’๐’•๐’๐’š ๐’†๐’Ž๐’‘๐’‰๐’‚๐’”๐’Š๐’›๐’† ๐‘น๐‘ฌ๐‘บ๐‘ผ๐‘ณ๐‘ป๐‘บ ๐’‚๐’๐’… ๐‘ฏ๐‘จ๐‘น๐‘ซ ๐‘ญ๐‘จ๐‘ช๐‘ป๐‘ถ๐‘น๐‘บ, such as financial outcomes, processes, and technology. However, it is crucial to remember that this alone will not yield optimal IBP results.

That’s why I invite you to explore the power of ๐‘ฐ๐’๐’•๐’†๐’ˆ๐’“๐’‚๐’•๐’†๐’… ๐‘ฉ๐’–๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’†๐’”๐’” ๐‘บ๐’†๐’๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ (๐’Š๐‘ฉ๐’”๐’Š๐’๐’ˆ) ๐’‚๐’” ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’–๐’๐’•๐’Š๐’Ž๐’‚๐’•๐’† ๐’‡๐’“๐’‚๐’Ž๐’†๐’˜๐’๐’“๐’Œ ๐’•๐’ ๐’‚๐’…๐’…๐’“๐’†๐’”๐’” ๐’•๐’‰๐’† ๐’—๐’Š๐’•๐’‚๐’ ๐‘บ๐‘ถ๐‘ญ๐‘ป ๐‘ญ๐‘จ๐‘ช๐‘ป๐‘ถ๐‘น๐‘บ and prioritize the remaining 50% during your E2E Planning and Execution Framework transformation.

Let’s strike the perfect balance between hard and soft factors in IBP to achieve exceptional results!