Overview
Discussion: Review the website What are Key Metrics for Measuring Long-term Impact?Links to an external site.
Consider the metrics currently being used by your organization (or a previous organization) at the individual, departmental, divisional or corporate (top) level.
- Do any of those metrics adhere to any of the categories you find on the website?
- If not, are there internal or external constraints that are driving the metrics used?
- Then, consider the question posed “Are Current Metrics Sufficient for Systemic Change?” How do you answer for your organization.
- Finally, based on what you have learned from the website, what metrics would you recommend your organization adopt? Assume there are NO CONSTRAINTS. What would you recommend in a perfect world?
Discussion 2: Take the time to reflect on everything that has transpired over the entire arc of the course. Think about where we started – pure finance, holistic metric systems, stakeholder capitalism, ethics, long term planning. Consider all of the cases you have studied. The world would certainly be different if nothing mattered but profit and maximizing returns to shareholders. Think about how different outcomes would be for the organizations we have studied if they only looked at one dimension of success.
- Including readings, discussions, papers, innovation resources, and more, reflect on what you have learned in the course. Be honest...there is no right or wrong answer here.
- Most importantly, how can the material be specifically applied in your work environment or any other work environment?
This is a final reflection of your learning for the week. Don't just recap what you learned, but consider your learning process and how this week's lesson may be applied in your life.
Assignment: Read the case, To Feed the Planet: Juan Luciano at ADM (see the syllabus for a link to the Harvard Coursepack).
Upon coming aboard at ADM, Luciano saw changes in the agribusiness industry that warranted pivots in ADM's business strategy to ensure long-term success. To shepherd the company through a changing industry, Luciano conceptualized three "strategic horizons" - general timeframes to pursue specific goals.
The first horizon was aimed at getting ADM financially fit, including raising ROIC above WACC and reducing CapEx. The second horizon was characterized by moving closer to customers through identifying global macro-trends and offering corresponding products and services to generate better margins. As part of the second horizon, ADM acquired flavor company and food and beverage solutions provider WILD Flavors, which resulted in Luciano creating a Nutrition division that used rapid design-for-market capabilities to create complete product solutions for customers.
As a leader, Luciano exhibited the traits of both a learner (e.g., seeking out a variety of perspectives before ultimately making key decisions himself) and a teacher (e.g., utilizing drawings, vivid analogies, and hands-on demonstrations). Luciano needed to define the company's next horizon. He knew his general goal was sustainable growth, but balancing profitability with innovation and pace of change with durability of change could prove challenging in the years to come.
For your assignment, consider the arc of this course. Financial metrics, holistic metrics, stakeholder vs shareholder capitalism, innovation, risk management, and long- or short-term thinking.
Luciano has asked you to give him your opinion based on your vast experience.
- Are there pitfalls you would warn against?
- Are there global realities that may impact his plans?
- Are there innovations in agriculture or in business process that you would recommend he consider?
- Finally, is this a stakeholder- or shareholder-focused plan? Why?
He expects you to present your analysis and recommendations in PowerPoint. Be sure to include your commentary in the Notes.