About
After a large competitor merger, RASP recognised the need for a leadership solution that would enable the business to formulate a response, as well as prepare them for future competitor threats and the uncertainty of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The programme needed to provide an opportunity to assess whether RASP’s current strategy was secure or if some changes were required.
The fast and rapidly changing nature of the threats RASP were facing meant that they needed to act fast. Four years ago they had worked with Impact on a Competitor Strategy Programme (‘War Game) in a similar situation and found it to be an effective and successful experience. The CEO reached out again and within a few weeks Impact’s Competitor Strategy Programme was delivered to RASP leaders virtually.
The primary objective of the Competitor Strategy Programme was to provide an opportunity for the senior leadership team to conduct a competitive market analysis with the following objectives in mind:
- Gain an overview of the RASP business situation following the competitor's acquisition
- Develop an idea of possible scenarios and actions from other competitors in Poland as a result of the acquisition
- Formulate RASP’s strategic responses to these potential actions (based on the principle of proactive vs. reactive planning)
- Create ideas for RASP to strengthen their presence in the market
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the two-week learning journey took place virtually and consisted of five parts:
- A virtual kick-off introduced participants to the programme, their teams, and the technology they would be using
- Four inspirational sessions with external market experts provided participants with new insights, knowledge and a wider perspective on the situation
- This was followed by two presentation sessions, in which teams presented their strategies in response to the acquisition and received analysis from other teams who stepped into the shoes of the competitor company to provide feedback
- Voluntary group work on Microsoft Teams bridged the events and provided a space for participants to analyse competitor data and further work on the project
- The journey culminated with the RASP senior directors presenting their ‘RASP response’, based on the learnings gained throughout the two weeks.
Afterwards, participants shared their feedback in a group reflection session
The quality of the presentation and recommendations were extremely high, and the COO of RASP took them to the supervisory board in Germany.
As a result, several of the recommendations are now being put into place. Furthermore, the entire RASP senior leadership team better understands their competitors’ strategies and is now able to anticipate their actions and plan their own responses.
“In the course of this set of workshops, we got into the shoes of our competitors and looked at our company through their eyes. It gave us all an opportunity to go beyond our business as usual, to discuss with and learn from internal experts, and finally, to think more strategically. I also found the meetings with external experts very inspiring. It was very insightful to look at the market from their perspective.”
Julita Rudolf, Business Transformation Director at Ringier Axel Springer Polska