Case Study Description of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners
Since its inception, London-based private equity firm Greighton Partners had managed over $15 billion in investor capital. The firm employed about 150 professionals around the globe and had completed over 175 company acquisitions since its founding. Started with a small intimate team in London, the firm had merged with a continental PE firm and was successful, with an increased focus on Asia deals. After a long day of global partner meetings behind them, a group of Greighton partners, eager to unwind, gathered to discuss the firm's success in terms of executing on its recently refined strategy. Opinions ranged across the following strategic issues: growing the firm's Asian footprint versus remaining focused in Europe; aiming to be a top performing mid-market firm or focusing on moving up a tier to compete for bigger deals against larger firms; growth and expansion through organic growth, merger/acquisition, or through lateral hires; and finally, sector mix and client mix/client focus.
Swot Analysis of "Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners" written by Boris Groysberg, Kerry Herman includes – strengths weakness that are internal strategic factors of the organization, and opportunities and threats that Greighton Firm facing as an external strategic factors. Some of the topics covered in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study are - Strategic Management Strategies, Financial management, Growth strategy, Managing people, Organizational culture and Finance & Accounting.
Some of the macro environment factors that can be used to understand the Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners casestudy better are - – increasing commodity prices, increasing transportation and logistics costs, increasing household debt because of falling income levels, competitive advantages are harder to sustain because of technology dispersion, technology disruption, customer relationship management is fast transforming because of increasing concerns over data privacy, increasing government debt because of Covid-19 spendings,
talent flight as more people leaving formal jobs, banking and financial system is disrupted by Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, etc
Introduction to SWOT Analysis of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners
SWOT stands for an organization’s Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats . At Oak Spring University , we believe that protagonist in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study can use SWOT analysis as a strategic management tool to assess the current internal strengths and weaknesses of the Greighton Firm, and to figure out the opportunities and threats in the macro environment – technological, environmental, political, economic, social, demographic, etc in which Greighton Firm operates in.
According to Harvard Business Review, 75% of the managers use SWOT analysis for various purposes such as – evaluating current scenario, strategic planning, new venture feasibility, personal growth goals, new market entry, Go To market strategies, portfolio management and strategic trade-off assessment, organizational restructuring, etc.
SWOT Objectives / Importance of SWOT Analysis and SWOT Matrix
SWOT analysis of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners can be done for the following purposes –
1. Strategic planning using facts provided in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study
2. Improving business portfolio management of Greighton Firm
3. Assessing feasibility of the new initiative in Finance & Accounting field.
4. Making a Finance & Accounting topic specific business decision
5. Set goals for the organization
6. Organizational restructuring of Greighton Firm
Strengths Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Strengths in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The strengths of Greighton Firm in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners Harvard Business Review case study are -
Superior customer experience
– The customer experience strategy of Greighton Firm in the segment is based on four key concepts – personalization, simplification of complex needs, prompt response, and continuous engagement.
Learning organization
- Greighton Firm is a learning organization. It has inculcated three key characters of learning organization in its processes and operations – exploration, creativity, and expansiveness. The work place at Greighton Firm is open place that encourages instructiveness, ideation, open minded discussions, and creativity. Employees and leaders in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners Harvard Business Review case study emphasize – knowledge, initiative, and innovation.
Effective Research and Development (R&D)
– Greighton Firm has innovation driven culture where significant part of the revenues are spent on the research and development activities. This has resulted in, as mentioned in case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners - staying ahead in the industry in terms of – new product launches, superior customer experience, highly competitive pricing strategies, and great returns to the shareholders.
High brand equity
– Greighton Firm has strong brand awareness and brand recognition among both - the exiting customers and potential new customers. Strong brand equity has enabled Greighton Firm to keep acquiring new customers and building profitable relationship with both the new and loyal customers.
Digital Transformation in Finance & Accounting segment
- digital transformation varies from industry to industry. For Greighton Firm digital transformation journey comprises differing goals based on market maturity, customer technology acceptance, and organizational culture. Greighton Firm has successfully integrated the four key components of digital transformation – digital integration in processes, digital integration in marketing and customer relationship management, digital integration into the value chain, and using technology to explore new products and market opportunities.
Highly skilled collaborators
– Greighton Firm has highly efficient outsourcing and offshoring strategy. It has resulted in greater operational flexibility and bringing down the costs in highly price sensitive segment. Secondly the value chain collaborators of the firm in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners HBR case study have helped the firm to develop new products and bring them quickly to the marketplace.
Diverse revenue streams
– Greighton Firm is present in almost all the verticals within the industry. This has provided firm in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study a diverse revenue stream that has helped it to survive disruptions such as global pandemic in Covid-19, financial disruption of 2008, and supply chain disruption of 2021.
Training and development
– Greighton Firm has one of the best training and development program in the industry. The effectiveness of the training programs can be measured in Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners Harvard Business Review case study by analyzing – employees retention, in-house promotion, loyalty, new venture initiation, lack of conflict, and high level of both employees and customer engagement.
High switching costs
– The high switching costs that Greighton Firm has built up over years in its products and services combo offer has resulted in high retention of customers, lower marketing costs, and greater ability of the firm to focus on its customers.
Sustainable margins compare to other players in Finance & Accounting industry
– Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners firm has clearly differentiated products in the market place. This has enabled Greighton Firm to fetch slight price premium compare to the competitors in the Finance & Accounting industry. The sustainable margins have also helped Greighton Firm to invest into research and development (R&D) and innovation.
Ability to recruit top talent
– Greighton Firm is one of the leading recruiters in the industry. Managers in the Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners are in a position to attract the best talent available. The firm has a robust talent identification program that helps in identifying the brightest.
Ability to lead change in Finance & Accounting field
– Greighton Firm is one of the leading players in its industry. Over the years it has not only transformed the business landscape in its segment but also across the whole industry. The ability to lead change has enabled Greighton Firm in – penetrating new markets, reaching out to new customers, and providing different value propositions to different customers in the international markets.
Weaknesses Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners | Internal Strategic Factors
What are Weaknesses in SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The weaknesses of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners are -
Employees’ incomplete understanding of strategy
– From the instances in the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners, it seems that the employees of Greighton Firm don’t have comprehensive understanding of the firm’s strategy. This is reflected in number of promotional campaigns over the last few years that had mixed messaging and competing priorities. Some of the strategic activities and services promoted in the promotional campaigns were not consistent with the organization’s strategy.
No frontier risks strategy
– After analyzing the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners, it seems that company is thinking about the frontier risks that can impact Finance & Accounting strategy. But it has very little resources allocation to manage the risks emerging from events such as natural disasters, climate change, melting of permafrost, tacking the rise of artificial intelligence, opportunities and threats emerging from commercialization of space etc.
Aligning sales with marketing
– It come across in the case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners that the firm needs to have more collaboration between its sales team and marketing team. Sales professionals in the industry have deep experience in developing customer relationships. Marketing department in the case Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners can leverage the sales team experience to cultivate customer relationships as Greighton Firm is planning to shift buying processes online.
Need for greater diversity
– Greighton Firm has taken concrete steps on diversity, equity, and inclusion. But the efforts so far has resulted in limited success. It needs to expand the recruitment and selection process to hire more people from the minorities and underprivileged background.
High operating costs
– Compare to the competitors, firm in the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners has high operating costs in the. This can be harder to sustain given the new emerging competition from nimble players who are using technology to attract Greighton Firm 's lucrative customers.
High cash cycle compare to competitors
Greighton Firm has a high cash cycle compare to other players in the industry. It needs to shorten the cash cycle by 12% to be more competitive in the marketplace, reduce inventory costs, and be more profitable.
High dependence on star products
– The top 2 products and services of the firm as mentioned in the Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners HBR case study still accounts for major business revenue. This dependence on star products in has resulted into insufficient focus on developing new products, even though Greighton Firm has relatively successful track record of launching new products.
Slow to harness new channels of communication
– Even though competitors are using new communication channels such as Instagram, Tiktok, and Snap, Greighton Firm is slow explore the new channels of communication. These new channels of communication mentioned in marketing section of case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners can help to provide better information regarding products and services. It can also build an online community to further reach out to potential customers.
Low market penetration in new markets
– Outside its home market of Greighton Firm, firm in the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners needs to spend more promotional, marketing, and advertising efforts to penetrate international markets.
Skills based hiring
– The stress on hiring functional specialists at Greighton Firm has created an environment where the organization is dominated by functional specialists rather than management generalist. This has resulted into product oriented approach rather than marketing oriented approach or consumers oriented approach.
Lack of clear differentiation of Greighton Firm products
– To increase the profitability and margins on the products, Greighton Firm needs to provide more differentiated products than what it is currently offering in the marketplace.
Opportunities Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners | External Strategic Factors
What are Opportunities in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The opportunities highlighted in the Harvard Business Review case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners are -
Developing new processes and practices
– Greighton Firm can develop new processes and procedures in Finance & Accounting industry using technology such as automation using artificial intelligence, real time transportation and products tracking, 3D modeling for concept development and new products pilot testing etc.
Buying journey improvements
– Greighton Firm can improve the customer journey of consumers in the industry by using analytics and artificial intelligence. Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners suggest that firm can provide automated chats to help consumers solve their own problems, provide online suggestions to get maximum out of the products and services, and help consumers to build a community where they can interact with each other to develop new features and uses.
Remote work and new talent hiring opportunities
– The widespread usage of remote working technologies during Covid-19 has opened opportunities for Greighton Firm to expand its talent hiring zone. According to McKinsey Global Institute, 20% of the high end workforce in fields such as finance, information technology, can continously work from remote local post Covid-19. This presents a really great opportunity for Greighton Firm to hire the very best people irrespective of their geographical location.
Leveraging digital technologies
– Greighton Firm can leverage digital technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning to automate the production process, customer analytics to get better insights into consumer behavior, realtime digital dashboards to get better sales tracking, logistics and transportation, product tracking, etc.
Reconfiguring business model
– The expansion of digital payment system, the bringing down of international transactions costs using Bitcoin and other blockchain based currencies, etc can help Greighton Firm to reconfigure its entire business model. For example it can used blockchain based technologies to reduce piracy of its products in the big markets such as China. Secondly it can use the popularity of e-commerce in various developing markets to build a Direct to Customer business model rather than the current Channel Heavy distribution network.
Better consumer reach
– The expansion of the 5G network will help Greighton Firm to increase its market reach. Greighton Firm will be able to reach out to new customers. Secondly 5G will also provide technology framework to build new tools and products that can help more immersive consumer experience and faster consumer journey.
Identify volunteer opportunities
– Covid-19 has impacted working population in two ways – it has led to people soul searching about their professional choices, resulting in mass resignation. Secondly it has encouraged people to do things that they are passionate about. This has opened opportunities for businesses to build volunteer oriented socially driven projects. Greighton Firm can explore opportunities that can attract volunteers and are consistent with its mission and vision.
Creating value in data economy
– The success of analytics program of Greighton Firm has opened avenues for new revenue streams for the organization in the industry. This can help Greighton Firm to build a more holistic ecosystem as suggested in the Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study. Greighton Firm can build new products and services such as - data insight services, data privacy related products, data based consulting services, etc.
Changes in consumer behavior post Covid-19
– Consumer behavior has changed in the Finance & Accounting industry because of Covid-19 restrictions. Some of this behavior will stay once things get back to normal. Greighton Firm can take advantage of these changes in consumer behavior to build a far more efficient business model. For example consumer regular ordering of products can reduce both last mile delivery costs and market penetration costs. Greighton Firm can further use this consumer data to build better customer loyalty, provide better products and service collection, and improve the value proposition in inflationary times.
Lowering marketing communication costs
– 5G expansion will open new opportunities for Greighton Firm in the field of marketing communication. It will bring down the cost of doing business, provide technology platform to build new products in the Finance & Accounting segment, and it will provide faster access to the consumers.
Low interest rates
– Even though inflation is raising its head in most developed economies, Greighton Firm can still utilize the low interest rates to borrow money for capital investment. Secondly it can also use the increase of government spending in infrastructure projects to get new business.
Manufacturing automation
– Greighton Firm can use the latest technology developments to improve its manufacturing and designing process in Finance & Accounting segment. It can use CAD and 3D printing to build a quick prototype and pilot testing products. It can leverage automation using machine learning and artificial intelligence to do faster production at lowers costs, and it can leverage the growth in satellite and tracking technologies to improve inventory management, transportation, and shipping.
Redefining models of collaboration and team work
– As explained in the weaknesses section, Greighton Firm is facing challenges because of the dominance of functional experts in the organization. Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners case study suggests that firm can utilize new technology to build more coordinated teams and streamline operations and communications using tools such as CAD, Zoom, etc.
Threats Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners External Strategic Factors
What are Threats in the SWOT Analysis / TOWS Matrix / Weighted SWOT Analysis
The threats mentioned in the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners are -
Increasing wage structure of Greighton Firm
– Post Covid-19 there is a sharp increase in the wages especially in the jobs that require interaction with people. The increasing wages can put downward pressure on the margins of Greighton Firm.
Instability in the European markets
– European Union markets are facing three big challenges post Covid – expanded balance sheets, Brexit related business disruption, and aggressive Russia looking to distract the existing security mechanism. Greighton Firm will face different problems in different parts of Europe. For example it will face inflationary pressures in UK, France, and Germany, balance sheet expansion and demand challenges in Southern European countries, and geopolitical instability in the Eastern Europe.
Trade war between China and United States
– The trade war between two of the biggest economies can hugely impact the opportunities for Greighton Firm in the Finance & Accounting industry. The Finance & Accounting industry is already at various protected from local competition in China, with the rise of trade war the protection levels may go up. This presents a clear threat of current business model in Chinese market.
New competition
– After the dotcom bust of 2001, financial crisis of 2008-09, the business formation in US economy had declined. But in 2020 alone, there are more than 1.5 million new business applications in United States. This can lead to greater competition for Greighton Firm in the Finance & Accounting sector and impact the bottomline of the organization.
Shortening product life cycle
– it is one of the major threat that Greighton Firm is facing in Finance & Accounting sector. It can lead to higher research and development costs, higher marketing expenses, lower customer loyalty, etc.
Backlash against dominant players
– US Congress and other legislative arms of the government are getting tough on big business especially technology companies. The digital arm of Greighton Firm business can come under increasing regulations regarding data privacy, data security, etc.
Aging population
– As the populations of most advanced economies are aging, it will lead to high social security costs, higher savings among population, and lower demand for goods and services in the economy. The household savings in US, France, UK, Germany, and Japan are growing faster than predicted because of uncertainty caused by pandemic.
Stagnating economy with rate increase
– Greighton Firm can face lack of demand in the market place because of Fed actions to reduce inflation. This can lead to sluggish growth in the economy, lower demands, lower investments, higher borrowing costs, and consolidation in the field.
Increasing international competition and downward pressure on margins
– Apart from technology driven competitive advantage dilution, Greighton Firm can face downward pressure on margins from increasing competition from international players. The international players have stable revenue in their home market and can use those resources to penetrate prominent markets illustrated in HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners .
Regulatory challenges
– Greighton Firm needs to prepare for regulatory challenges as consumer protection groups and other pressure groups are vigorously advocating for more regulations on big business - to reduce inequality, to create a level playing field, to product data privacy and consumer privacy, to reduce the influence of big money on democratic institutions, etc. This can lead to significant changes in the Finance & Accounting industry regulations.
Learning curve for new practices
– As the technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning platform is getting complex, as highlighted in case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners, Greighton Firm may face longer learning curve for training and development of existing employees. This can open space for more nimble competitors in the field of Finance & Accounting .
Capital market disruption
– During the Covid-19, Dow Jones has touched record high. The valuations of a number of companies are way beyond their existing business model potential. This can lead to capital market correction which can put a number of suppliers, collaborators, value chain partners in great financial difficulty. It will directly impact the business of Greighton Firm.
Barriers of entry lowering
– As technology is more democratized, the barriers to entry in the industry are lowering. It can presents Greighton Firm with greater competitive threats in the near to medium future. Secondly it will also put downward pressure on pricing throughout the sector.
Weighted SWOT Analysis of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners Template, Example
Not all factors mentioned under the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants in the SWOT Analysis are equal. Managers in the HBR case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners needs to zero down on the relative importance of each factor mentioned in the Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats quadrants.
We can provide the relative importance to each factor by assigning relative weights. Weighted SWOT analysis process is a three stage process –
First stage for doing weighted SWOT analysis of the case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners is to rank the strengths and weaknesses of the organization. This will help you to assess the most important strengths and weaknesses of the firm and which one of the strengths and weaknesses mentioned in the initial lists are marginal and can be left out.
Second stage for conducting weighted SWOT analysis of the Harvard case study Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners is to give probabilities to the external strategic factors thus better understanding the opportunities and threats arising out of macro environment changes and developments.
Third stage of constructing weighted SWOT analysis of Talking Strategy at Greighton Partners is to provide strategic recommendations includes – joining likelihood of external strategic factors such as opportunities and threats to the internal strategic factors – strengths and weaknesses. You should start with external factors as they will provide the direction of the overall industry. Secondly by joining probabilities with internal strategic factors can help the company not only strategic fit but also the most probably strategic trade-off that Greighton Firm needs to make to build a sustainable competitive advantage.
