business focus 29
New Abingdon business park gets go-ahead
Add strategy to your toolkit and get in the driving seat
‘It’s like driving’, says programme director Jeff Callander. ‘We all think we’re pretty good at it, and no-one ever admits to being bad at it’
Planning permission has been granted for Grange Court Business Park, an exciting new development at the Abingdon Science Park of 13 new business units ranging in size from 1,589 sq ft to 10,288 sq ft. Construction will start shortly and completion is due in summer 2017. Bidwells has been appointed as agents for the scheme.
Robert Beatson of Bidwells said: “We expect a broad range of businesses to be interested in the scheme because of the flexible nature of the units which can be used for industrial purposes or fitted out and used as office/R&D space.
“Occupiers will have the opportunity to buy or lease, and will also have input into the internal fit out of the units which can also be joined or split if required.”
Oxford city-centre opens up development opportunities
The report of a recent high-level workshop at Nuffield College shows some 200 acres are now available for development in the West End of the city centre.
The opportunities have become available through Oxford City Council acquiring the key site at Oxpens with support from Nuffield College, which also now controls land between the college and the railway line. The opportunities include ensuring that access to and from the new station will be fully integrated into the redeveloped West End and this could even include repositioning the station.
It is possible that academic buildings for the Nuffield College and Oxford University in the West End can be combined with new homes, commercial and leisure buildings. Local communities in the West End and throughout Oxford are recognised as key stakeholders and discussions will continue with them on the way in which the area will be developed.
The report of the workshop, concludes by identifying three key steps:
1 The principal landowners need to meet regularly to continue to understand each other’s ambitions and expectations.
2 The spatial linkages need to be mapped to identify the key infrastructure requirements, short and long term, and feasibility studies will be needed to resolve key options, eg transport links.
3 A budget will be required to engage the community (especially young people) in what the area can offer and funding sources and management arrangements need to be identified and investigated.
To read the report go to
oxfordfutures.org.uk/uploads/Oxford_Central_ West_Report.pdf
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2016
Callander runs The Strategy Programme at the world- renowned Henley Business School and during a distinguished career as a business leader in retail, engineering and consulting, he’s seen lots of senior executives and board directors who simply haven’t grasped the value of a robust strategy.
According to Callander: "The problem lies in a lack of depth of understanding of what strategy really is, and the part it can play in creating competitive advantage and value."
It’s the things we do to reach our goals. Isn’t it?
In the majority of cases, managers and directors set arbitrary objectives, and see strategy as a simple list of tasks needed to achieve them.
For Callander, however, this explains why most strategies, businesses and mergers simply don’t work.
"Strategy is a leadership tool which has to be used in context,"emphasises Callander. "You have to really understand your market and where it’s going, know what your customers want, and have a clear knowledge of what your competitors are doing.
"Armed with these insights, you can set goals that are realistic and achievable, and start to define the human and competitive elements of a strategy that will create genuine competitive advantage and deliver sustainable value."
Extending the toolkit analogy, it would be like deciding to hang a picture on the wall, and using obvious tools – a hammer and nail – without having any understanding of what the wall was made of, what might be behind it, what other pictures might be nearby, and where
the light was coming from. So, inevitably, you puncture a pipe, or hang the picture at the wrong height or angle, or it just doesn’t look right.
"Strategy is not just the steps,"reiterates Callander. "It requires you to establish what you’ll do differently, and compels you to achieve it."
What are the symptoms?
There are, it seems, three typical scenarios that should sound warning bells that your strategy is not being properly founded or implemented:
• Repeated failure to achieve your goals
• A disengaged workforce • An inward focus.
As part of Henley’s unique approach, Callander assesses the strategies submitted by every delegate ahead of the four-day programme, and delivers relevant and effective actions that can be implemented immediately by each participant.
And the outcome is summarised neatly by the words of one recent delegate: "I recommend you try this course ... you will learn something new and revealing, relevant and pragmatic that helps you in your business."
Details: Diana Richards 01491-418767
exec@henley.ac.uk henley.ac.uk/strategy
Follow us on twitter: @HenleyExecEd
businessmag.co.uk
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