CORPORATE STORYBOARD

PRACTICE DESCRIPTION

■■ To speed the decision-making process and protect sensitive military information, Rolls-Royce limits participation in the
formulation of corporate strategy, which prevents managers from fully understanding their role in strategy.
■■ To engage top managers in major changes to strategy, Rolls-Royce reserves an entire room for a period of a few
months at the corporate headquarters (designated the “CEO Room”) to present the story of how the executive team
developed current strategy.
■■ By using the corporate storyboard to fuel discussion about the company’s current strategic position and the strategy
alternatives that were not chosen, Rolls-Royce fosters firm-wide understanding of and buy-in to the strategy.

COMPANY SNAPSHOT

Rolls-Royce Limited
Industry: Automotive and Rolls-Royce, the second-largest aircraft engine maker in the world,
Aerospace manufactures, sells, and supports gas turbine engines and ancillary
Revenue: £12.2 Billion equipment for aircraft and for industrial and marine applications.
Employees: 40,000
Headquarters: London

© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company.

All Rights Reserved. CSB5806313SYN

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 Companies often
fail to engage the
broader organization
with broadcast
communication methods.
■■ To maximize decision speed,
and due to the defense-
related sensitivity of some of
the detail, Rolls-Royce limits
participation in corporate
strategy development.
■■ As a consequence, many
communications are
essentially public relations–
based and fail to sufficiently
engage top managers.
■■ This has limited impact on
a day-to-day basis but over
time leads to uncertainty
about strategic direction.
TRADING OFF DECISION SPEED AND ENGAGEMENT
Trade-Off Between Decision Speed Failure Points of Broadcast Communication
and Engagement Illustrative
Illustrative
Number of Strategy Development Participants Broadcast Message
Many Few
Prepackaged
Overly “crafted” corporate message causes
message recipients to tune out.
Pros Many people Pros Fast decision speed
engaged One-Way
Cons Failure to engage
Cons Slow decision the managers key for Few opportunities for direct interaction
speed successful execution with strategy developers leaves real
questions unanswered.
Generalized
Strategy framed in broad enterprise context
without connection to unit-level initiatives.

“We used to call the Corporate Strategic
Plan the ‘Corporate Secret Plan’ and
produced only a handful of individually
numbered copies. If you didn’t have a copy,
it was difficult to understand corporate
strategy, let alone how to execute it.”
Senior Executive
© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company. Rolls-Royce plc
All Rights Reserved. CSB5806313SYN
“A CEO talking corporate strategy to a
room of 100 middle managers risks that
people will not march when directed and
will not make necessary trade-offs in the
moment when obstacles arise.”
Senior Executive
Rolls-Royce plc

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 A different-in-kind
method to communicate
PULLING BACK THE CURTAIN
major strategy shifts
engages Rolls-Royce’s CEO Room with Corporate Storyboard
300 middle managers in Rolls-Royce plc
the story of how strategy
was developed. The story is divided into five to Traditional Rolls-Royce
six “walk-away” themes. Strategy Strategy
Communication Communication
■■ Facilitating debate with
Chapter: The Chapter: Creatin— Chapter: Service— Going? Large groups Small groups
groups of 6 to 10, the Chapter: Creating Chapter: Service—Where Have
■■ ■■
Chapter: The Story to Date What Could We Do?
Growth—
strategist discusses the What Could We Do? We Got to, and Where Are We (100+) (6–10)
Going?
evolving background to ■■ Five to six ■■ 50–60
the company’s strategic presentations presentations
position as well as strategy Supply ■■ One-hour ■■ Three-hour
Chain
alternatives considered but Impact on
sessions sessions
not chosen in the form of a Solutions ■■ 15 minutes of ■■ Structured
story. Q&A conversation
■■ Linear ■■ Nonlinear
■■ The storyboard helps to sequence format
improve understanding and
cultivate support among
Revealing Facilitating Showing
managers responsible for
Alternatives Debate Where You Fit
execution.

Unveiling the “paths Strategists and Putting individual’s

Strategist guides
not taken” provides participants challenge activity in the context of
conversation to the most
insight into the executive each other to think what others are doing
“The storyboard gives relevant parts of the story
decision-making process. differently about company illustrates nonobvious
you the total story— strategy, provoking impact on strategy.
for each group, drawing
where everything fits in, on unit-level anecdotes to
unscripted discussion;
personalize the storyboard.
the detail, whether it is a weak unresolved issues are
point or a strong point, and catalogued on Post-It
notes.
whether the context is relevant to
a tenth or a hundredth of the rest
of the story—all in the blink of an
eye.”
Head of Strategy Development
Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce plc

© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company.

All Rights Reserved. CSB5806313SYN Source: CEB, CEB Strategy Leadership Council, 2005.

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 The storyboard impacts
top-line performance and
A STORY WITH IMPACT
promotes the strategy
group’s visibility within Storyboard Impact on Corporate Strategy Benefits to the Strategy Group
the organization. Development Rolls-Royce plc
Rolls-Royce plc

■■ The initial storyboard New Storyboard Services Organization

participants focus intensely
on the “services” slide in the
Chapter: Services Engagement with Senior Executives
storyboard, so Roll-Royce Civil
Issues collected from storyboard sessions
includes the complete story Marine Aerospace
provide new information to engage senior
of service initiatives in next
Services team on next-generation strategy.
year’s storyboard.
Org
■■ Strategy group is asked by CEO to kick
■■ The services storyboard Defense
Energy
Aerospace off annual senior planning meeting with
shores up enterprise-wide
review of critical issues revealed.
support for a corporate
services organization to
Engagement with Business Units
coordinate cross-enterprise
Business units use storyboards as an
operations for customer
The creation of a …reveals the need impromptu brainstorming session.
service, implement common comprehensive for cross-functional
standards, and share best picture of oversight of services ■■ Requests for strategy group involvement
practices. services efforts initiatives to ensure
with business units increase four to five
enterprise-wide… execution success.
times since establishing the storyboards.

© 2013 The Corporate Executive Board Company.

All Rights Reserved. CSB5806313SYN Source: Peter Barnes-Wallis Address to Shareholders, “Power Systems and Services for Land, Sea, and Air,” 2005.

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