Seeking Greatness in Stillness

For centuries, explorers have used the North Star (known as Polaris) as a navigational tool to help them travel long distances. Although not the brightest star in the sky, Polaris is useful because it sits almost directly on the Earth's North Celestial Pole. This consistent position makes the North Star a reliable guide for navigating without complex technology or additional aids.

A metaphorical North Star is commonly used in strategic planning within an organisation. This approach is often used to guide a business, franchise or portfolio but can be deployed more broadly. The North Star could be a vision, mission, positioning, or position within this context. It is a guiding light that enables the alignment of resources and focuses efforts on increasing the chances of success in competitive markets. Using a North Star in this way can help organisations chart a course for the future. 

Why is a North Star Important?

Alignment of efforts: 

When everyone in the organisation understands the strategic North Star, they can align their efforts towards achieving it. This alignment improves efficiency and productivity. 

Consistency In Decision Making

A strategic North Star provides a consistent framework for decision-making. When faced with a decision, the company can ask whether it aligns with its strategic North Star. If it does, it's likely a good decision. If it doesn't, it's likely not the best choice.

Clarity of purpose: 

A strategic North Star gives everyone in the organisation a clear purpose. It helps everyone understand why they're doing what they're doing and how it fits into the bigger picture. This clarity of purpose helps the company stay focused on its long-term goals and avoid getting side-tracked by short-term distractions.

Flexibility: 

A strategic North Star provides a consistent framework for decision-making but is flexible enough to allow for adaptation and evolution. We can update a North Star as the company's goals and circumstances evolve while providing a clear and consistent guide for decision-making.

What is an example of an effective North Star? 

In the late 1990s, Roche/Genentech's focus was on personalised medicines and targeted therapies in specific populations under the guiding light of "targeting cancer with care". This approach directed the development of more effective and less toxic therapies than traditional chemotherapy, which can have serious side effects on patients. 

Under the guidance of this North Star, the company launched highly effective anti-cancer treatments, namely Avastin (bevacizumab) and Herceptin (trastuzumab), two of Roche/Genentech's most successful oncology drugs. Each drug had its own North Star to align with the differentiation strategy, resulting in broad adoption for each product and blockbuster sales.

The concept of a North Star is not just about setting a direction for the future but also using that direction as a point of reference as organisations navigate opportunities, challenges, and obstacles that arise along the way. Roche/Genentech's "targeting cancer with care" strategy still guided portfolio-level decisions when the organisation acquired Ignyta and entrectinib in 2017. This acquisition allowed Roche to broaden and strengthen its oncology portfolio while remaining faithful to the core vision.

"Cancer is a highly complex disease, and many patients suffer from mutations which are difficult to detect and treat. The agreement with Ignyta builds on Roche's strategy of fitting treatments to patients and will allow Roche to broaden and strengthen its oncology portfolio globally." Daniel O'Day, Head of Roche Pharmaceuticals

In conclusion, setting a North Star is a powerful tool that can guide decision-making. By identifying a clear direction and using it as a point of reference, organisations can use this to align their resources and focus their efforts on a common goal, increasing their chances of success in the long term. The success of Roche/Genentech's North Star of personalised medicine is a salient case study for other companies seeking to develop innovative and effective new medicines. The results underscore the importance of having a clear direction as a strategic planning tool. 

Your North Star

If you or your team would like to know more and how to go about building a great North Star, please get in touch.