Conceptual modeling to support the “larger goal” pivot – An example from Netflix

Abstract

Many organizations mistakenly or inadvertently focus on tactical aims rather than on strategic goals. “Strategy” commonly denotes long-term objectives and high-level policies while “tactic” refers to deployment concerns and implementation considerations. By focusing on lower-level objectives an organization can potentially overlook or neglect better ways of achieving higher-level goals. Shifting from a short-term to a long-run orientation can be considered a type of pivoting, as the structure and relationships of an organization are substantially reconfigured. The Larger Goal pivot is essential when lower-level options for achieving a higher-level organizational goal are either unavailable or insufficient. It entails shifting focus to a larger or higher goal and exploring strategic alternatives to satisfy that goal. In this paper we present conceptual models of the Larger Goal pivot based on a historic example from Netflix – a movie streaming service.