Building Blocks for Higher Performance: Part 5 of 5
28 October 2010:
This article concludes our five-part series of articles based on the CorporateLeaders Executive Briefing in partnership with Raytheon Professional Services entitled ‘Reignite Business Performance for Competitive Edge – Building blocks for Higher Performance’. We hope you’ve enjoyed reading the insights contributed by CorporateLeaders, Raytheon Professional Services and Dr. Isaac Sheps, CEO of Carlsberg UK.
Download the PDF 
Boosting Your Performance
Ever wonder how it’s possible that though everyone seems to be meeting the targets set on paper, the company is still losing money? Many executives find themselves mulling over this conundrum and yet the explanation is quite plain. The target is not aggressive enough.
People want to be challenged in their work. Targets set too low breed complacency, or worse, boredom. Targets set too high create anxiety. And interestingly, both complacency and anxiety result in the same thing – underperformance. So Step One is to re-examine and reset the target.
Step Two is to nurture a ‘We’ did it corporate culture. Everyone must feel as if they have something to contribute and must know from management what’s expected of them to contribute. Managers must also be reflective. They have not only to be capable of telling others what they should do, but must also persistently ask of themselves what more they can do to improve the company’s fortunes.
Step Three is to gain efficiency by simplifying and standardising lines of command and communication to eliminate variance. If operating in a multinational environment, the company should - where possible - harmonise practices and techniques across borders.
Step Four is to do Steps 1-3 simply. A strategy needn’t be too complex. The simpler it is, the faster it can be implemented, and the sooner the results can be recorded and enjoyed.
The Carlsberg UK Case
Dr. Isaac Sheps, CEO Carlsberg UK
“Since 2008, we’ve been implementing an ambitious strategy that clearly defines how we can and will win in five key areas of our business: Customers, Colleagues, Portfolio, Route to Market and Supply Chain.
“Today we have a strong customer-focused approach which sees us putting customers and consumers at the heart of every decision we make. We also make great efforts to maintain an engaged and flexible workforce, recognising that together we are stronger and can deliver more. We invest in innovation in order to find ways in which to expand our portfolio to serve key segments. We have completely restructured our logistics network to enable us to have a winning route to market. And we work hard to maintain an agile brewery operation operating at the lowest cost within the UK.
“By ensuring that all five aspects of our business are fully aligned and optimised to achieve our vision, we’ve already witnessed a successful turnaround in our activities. Within a year of initiating our strategy, we were able to optimise our organisational structure, lower our cost base, successfully integrate new brands into our portfolio, and achieve market share growth from 13.3% to 14.4%.
“Today Carlsberg UK is a revitalised company bucking general downward trends in the UK beer market. Our high performing team is proof that working together we can truly make a difference!”
The 3 “Cs” of Management
- Competence – be good at what you do
- Confidence – fearlessly express your views
- Caring – show how much you care about 3 more “Cs”: your customers, your company and your colleagues
Dr. Isaac Sheps
* Dr. Sheps was appointed CEO of Carlsberg UK less than two years ago with a mandate to reignite its business. By designing and executing a meticulous strategy, the company has recorded success after success ever since. Under Sheps’ leadership, Carlsberg UK has witnessed a successful turnaround in its activities. The brewery’s ‘Winning Strategy’ has, in a year’s time, resulted in an optimised organisational structure, lower cost base, the successful integration of new brands into its portfolio, market share growth from 13.3% to 14.4% and, perhaps most importantly, a revitalized company culture.
