23/03/2026
Strategy before Budgets!!!
Design the Destination, Then Fund the Journey…
Have you ever felt that your organisation’s budgeting process has defaulted to "incrementalism", where you are doing nothing more than simply adjusting last year's numbers?
This is exactly what happens when budgeting precedes strategy development - the “why” behind the dollar allocation is missing, and the organisation seriously misaligns resources. While it funds more of last year’s activity checklist, competitors are ideating a new imperative, and deploying budgets into new, high growth greenfield opportunities.
If Strategy truly must define "where to play" and "how to win", then the budget must finance the “how” ensuring that the organisation doesn’t end up with “financially-orphaned” strategies. Not to mention the acrimonious fights during budget propositions and justifications that characterize budgeting processes that are not underpinned by strategic consensus. The fights simply mean budget owners and approvers are referencing justifications on different strategic premises.
When the strategy is done first and foremost, and the big bets are known and widely communicated ahead of resource allocation, the possibility of underfunding crucial initiatives is minimized, if not eliminated.
In Pictures
Allaboard doing what Allaboard does best – formulating the 3-year Strategy for Glenrise. We loved every minute of it, particularly how the process remained disciplined and focused on core mandate. When a team of young, sharp and energetic executives encounter the superiority of Allaboard’s strategy and operating model frameworks and tools, the outcome is a new Company, driven by a uniquely fresh strategic perspective, leveraging on game-changing strategic initiatives.
Let there be strategy; Let there be Glenrise!
