INTERVIEW: Gareth Tennant / Decision Advantage UK
Ex-Royal Marine turned CEO whisperer talks about pandemic strategy
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Gareth is a former head of operational intelligence for the Royal Marines, specialising in Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance operations. Having learnt and honed his trade in some of the world’s toughest and most complex environments from combat in Afghanistan to tracking pirates in Somalia, he became a global leader in the art of ‘Information Exploitation’. He now supports business leaders, governments and security services in the art of decision making in complex environments and building resilience. He ensures they can adapt as the threats change; he has worked extensively in the developing world of cybersecurity and the use of social media as an intelligence tool. He is used to integrating new paradigms into established institutions.
Specifically, in the business arena, Gareth coaches’ senior executives with adapting their leadership and management styles to achieve greater results from the use of information and data. He has delivered speeches, workshops, and lectures at a number of renowned universities, think tanks, and conferences. He uses thought-provoking correlations between global security challenges and those faced by business in a highly de-centralised, complex, and connected environment. Gareth’s use of visceral examples, from the world of human conflict and espionage, captivates audiences. He has a unique ability to ground often ethereal ideas into a real-world context; his message is both fascinating and inspiring; it has also never been more prescient and provides fundamentally practical and applicable solutions.
PA: Strategically-speaking for brands/agencies, how different is strategy/strategic thinking during a pandemic to regular times?
GT: This question is what, in the military, we would call ‘a question 2.4 moment’. It refers to the part of the military planning process where we need to check that in the time between orders been written and us receiving them the situation hasn’t changed so much that they are now irrelevant. At which point we need to start the planning all over again. We need to ask ourselves on the question, how has the situation changed?
Let’s look at the definition of strategy. If you view strategy as “the achievement of one or more objectives over the long-term under conditions of uncertainty.” Then the imperative for strategic thinking hasn’t really changed. What has changed is the characterisation of the ‘long-term’. Our depth of field has just been greatly reduced, instead of thinking about a 5-year plan, we’re all now thinking about the next 6 months. In addition to this, the uncertainty we’re all facing has just been hugely ramped up.
When this happens out strategic thinking to date needs to re re-assessed. The validity of all the assumptions we made before the pandemic, now needs to be tested to see if they still stand up. As uncertainty increases, we need to close the gap between understanding the environment and making strategic decisions. By this I mean, our decision making needs to become far more reliant on feedback. This allows organisations to become more agile and therefore more able to cope with the disruption that coming.
PA: What should people/brands not be doing right now? What's the advice that flies in the face of what's out there right now?
GT: There is a temptation to just go into ‘survival mode’, dealing with the immediate problems in front of us. To stop thinking strategically and to just firefight. If we do this, we tend to focus in on the obvious and familiar, we become victims of our own heuristics. It’s a human characteristic to try and frame current situations by relating it to our previous experiences. We’re naturally more comfortable with what we know. Uncertainty scares us. We become more risk-averse and less likely to try new things.
This is the last thing organisations should be doing. When the situation is dynamic, if you stand still, you quickly become lost. Now is the time for transformation, innovation and adaptation. If you’re just waiting for things to get back to normal, you’ll be waiting for a long time…
PA: What should people be aware of or let go of right now?
GT: The obvious thing to be aware of is cashflow. But, cash flow is a very short-term metric and this is a long-term problem. It’s affecting the social, political and economic landscape in ways that we are yet to fully understand. People need to assess their priorities. Top of the list should be our responsibility to our ‘people’. Employees, partners, and suppliers followed closely by customers and finally cashflow and finances. That’s not to say that difficult choices aren’t going to have to be made. But these should be made with clarity of purpose and most of all humility. Organisations letting go of their innovation projects in order to protect their core business, need to be sure that their core business is still going to viable in this new normal.
PA: 'Never let a crisis go to waste' is a quote from the Obama administration. Do you agree? How should businesses be planning for a post-COVID world now?
GT: Absolutely, this is a collective crisis that requires a collective response. This is our opportunity to rebuild the society, economy and that we want to be part of. At a business level, there will be a lot of churn in the market, this will squeeze some organisations and present opportunities for others. As I’ve already said, those that are willing to learn, are adaptive to the market changes and willing to take calculated risk will have a much better chance of success than those who close down the hatches and try to wait it out. I think Nelson said it best, when he said; “The measure may be thought bold, but I am of the opinion the boldest are the safest” - Horatio Nelson, 1801
To plan for this, organisations need to recognise that previous experience counts for less than it once did and that signals and feedback from the market need to be adapted to quickly. To thrive in uncertainty, one must accept that not all decisions taken are going to be right. But by implementing feedback loops, empowering decision-makers closer to the shop floor and creating a culture of learning. Organisations will be able to quickly 'fail forward', and hopefully adapt to the changing environment faster than their competitors.
However, we must also remain grounded, in all disruption, there are winners and losers. We should be seeking to seize the opportunities and exploit the gaps, but also to be humble and magnanimous in the success in brings.