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THINK STRATEGICALLY - Organizations that consistently win in the New Normal have one thing in common—committed proactive leaders who think strategically about the organization’s challenges and opportunities and act accordingly. That was the case with our client Texas Instruments (TI).

For over ten years, during a period when many of its competitors, including Intel and Motorola, were experiencing major growth in their market value, TI’s market value was flat. By the mid 1990’s, TI’s leaders began to realize that the problem was not their tactical capabilities. It was a lack of smart strategic thinking.

So how did TI put that insight into practice and what was the result?

In a series of strategic thinking sessions that engaged over two hundred top leaders, they shaped a new vision and new strategic focus. Instead of continuing to fight competitors for a share of the memory chip market, TI targeted the explosive market for digital signal processors—DSPs, which are a key component of Internet and mobile communication devices. And, most importantly, they decided to dominate the DSP market. They sold their huge defense unit, a sacred cow, in order to pump more money into the DSP effort. In an interview with the Wall Street Journal the CEO declared, "This isn't a market we want to play in; this is the market where we intend to win."  And they did win and win big: TI’s market value increased six-fold over the next three years.

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