Dansk
For 11 years, Sanne Markwall worked in the consulting company Vinderstrategi A/S and since 2014 as CEO. Now she is a tech entrepreneur who helps companies ranging from startups to large corporations develop and manage their strategy using a new digital tool.
It's a known fact among many owner-managers that strategy work is difficult, costs a lot of resources both in terms of their own time and hours spent with expensive consultants, and yet many strategies end up failing.
The failure rate for many companies is around two out of three. This means that only one third of all strategies reach their goals.
It's a (too) big waste of effort, some would say. Others see enormous potential. One of them is Sanne Markwall, who has worked with business development, execution and change management in practice for more than 20 years.
From 2014, she was CEO of the Copenhagen-based consultancy Vinderstrategi A/S. From the very beginning in 2009, she was involved in building the company and developing its commercial activities.
But at the same time, she began to think about making strategy work simpler, more concrete and, not least, digital, so that many more companies would have a better chance of achieving their strategic goals.
After several years in the making, Sanne Markwall established her own company in April 2019 and set the software developers in motion. The fall was spent testing the software with companies, partners and other stakeholders such as banks and accountants, and on March 20 - just as Denmark was shut down - the digital tool MakeMyStrategy was launched and the first customer landed.
I knew I shouldn't start by developing a Lamborghini. It's better to start with a soapbox car and then develop from there. That's why it's been a co-creator project all the way through, where I've used the input I've received. For example, I thought it was a tool for the entrepreneur that I was about to launch on the market, but with a few changes, it turned out that it also affects many small and medium-sized as well as larger companies," explains Sanne Markwall.
This means that MakeMyStrategy today runs in three tracks. A Starter edition for the entrepreneur, the Pro edition for SMEs and Pro+ for large corporations where the strategic plan often involves many people.
The pricing model has also been adjusted along the way.
In the test, we worked with companies paying a lump sum for access for a limited period, but the majority wanted a subscription plan with a one-year commitment and then the option to buy access on a monthly basis, says Sanne Markwall with a smile.
The price for the Pro edition is DKK 875 per month for three users - or DKK 10,500 on an annual basis. This corresponds to approximately one to two handfuls of external consultant hours, and this is where MakeMyStrategy must compete.
I know that many companies want to work with strategy, but resources are often a challenge. It requires both manpower and finances, but it also needs to be flexible in relation to the operations of many owner-managed companies, says Sanne Markwall and continues:
In order to create the best plan for the company, there are many balls to keep track of. It must therefore be easy and accessible to involve different people along the way, and all analyses need to be intertwined to bring out the essence. At the same time, the owner-manager must be able to jump back and forth or jump to and from the strategy work when it fits into an often busy schedule.
The software keeps track of all information and acts as the company's digital project manager, guiding them through the entire process. The owner-manager is asked to consider both internal strengths and weaknesses in the engine room as well as external factors that can show opportunities and threats. And the SWOT analysis shows a conclusion for each theme, which the manager can then navigate by, says Sanne Markwall, adding that the bestselling book 'Strategy in Winning Companies' is the foundation of the system.
Sanne Markwall emphasizes that throughout the entire process, the company is in charge of the process. It is not an external consultant, and therefore the tool is less person-dependent.
Navigation is like a traffic light with the colors red and green. So there is no doubt where there is danger and what requires special attention.
I don't know anything about IT myself, which is why it has been important to me that we move at the user level. It must not get in the way of the strategy work, says Sanne Markwall
The goal of the strategy work is for the company to get clear on its mission, vision and values through questions and tasks. Of course, there is also the opportunity to incorporate the UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
The end product is a concrete action plan, an executive summary and a detailed strategic plan that ensures traceability and contains all documents - both your own and those in the tool.
The company gets a digital strategy room where the strategy can be continuously developed and where the tool keeps track of all the elements, explains Sanne Markwall.
Six months into running her own business, MakeMyStrategy ApS, Sanne Markwall is pleased with the reception in a corona-affected market:
It has been the SMEs that have reacted the fastest and best, while entrepreneurs typically think first and foremost about getting their idea out there. MakeMyStrategy is not an execution tool, it's a tool for developing strategies, but startups also need to have the strategy ready for when they go to the bank, for example.
And Sanne Markwall sticks to her own mission to democratize strategy work in companies and a strong co-creator approach.
My focus is on building a new universe that can help businesses. I've brought in a number of external consultants along the way, and at one point I was asked about the possibility of becoming MakeMyStrategy certified. This led me to sit down with four consultants and a couple of companies and develop a certification course. So far, 15 consultants have been certified and are now using the digital tool in the companies they work for," she concludes.
In addition, MakeMyStrategy has entered into agreements with commercial partners such as the board networks Asnet and BetterBoard and the industry organization Danske Maritime.
This article was published on Business+ on November 10, 2020.
With MakeMyStrategy we completed the job faster and on our own
Christian Thing
Chairman
Living Better A/S