8Minute Talk show — Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar Head of Strategic Planning at Golrang Industrial Group

Mansour Kiarash: Hi, we are beside you with another 8-minute talk show. Dear Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar, Head of Strategic Planning at Golrang Industrial Group, is our guest today. Welcome to the talk show Mr. Ranjbar.

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: Hi, thanks for inviting me.

Mansour Kiarash: Would you tell us a little about yourself, please?

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: I am Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar, and I’ve obtained a Ph.D. degree in Strategic management from Tehran University. I am the Head of Strategic Planning at Golrang Industrial Group.

Mansour Kiarash: as you work on a vast business, you might have some challenges, would tell us about them, please?

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: one of our challenges is that our VP managers believe in strategy in word, but in action, they don’t. when you search for the reason, they’ll tell you that they have assigned a team, and they work on the organization’s strategy but the result isn’t acceptable. When I search for the answer of my question, I realize that our VP managers think that strategy is parallel with strategic planning. Strategy means how to reach the goal, and strategic planning is just a tool for that goal.

The other challenge is that our managers don’t believe that we need a special department for strategic planning or even strategy. They believe that every manager is responsible for strategy, and the result is awful. We have the name of some fathers in the strategy ID card, and none of them don’t accept their responsibility in case that it’s needed.

The last challenge which we deal with is the control of our sub-companies. I don’t want to engage with what McNamara said that “ measure everything quantitatively” or it has been told that the thing that you can’t measure, you can’t manage as well. But you should manage some qualitative funds in the company. If we can’t manage them, we will not understand what have we done to reach the target. The thing that happened in our company and was innovative is BI strategy, and with its help, we handle other companies.

The challenge that we face and is serious is how to grow loyal chief managers. We have planned to be one of the 500 best companies in the world, So we have to reach $ 35 billion in the fund, and our sub-companies chiefs should have a better look at the process. We predicted the fund of 1000 billion Toman for every corporation. But now they should reach 20,000 billion Toman. Accordingly, engaging managers by creating effective and valuable data that can help to strengthen strategic thought, achieve goals, and commit people to fight for the goal, is one of our serious challenges.

Mansour Kiarash: Do your students’ opinions helps their innovations as you teach at Tehran University?

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: we teach some concepts to our students and we wish that someday they will use them, and they will be useful. But the new system is learning by demand which leads me through what I need. If we grow students’ learning capacity, they can improve in any job position they are in and help the company develop.

Mansour Kiarash: what study resources would you introduce to our audiences?

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: I recommend The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene in the strategy’s field. The other one is Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely.

Mansour Kiarash: what features help a strategy manager to be efficient?

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: Study and Study! There’s a proverb in French that says, please keep your mouth shut If 24 hours have passed since you have studied the last book or brushing your teeth. It’s an amazing quote! We should update our information. MBWA is the abbreviation of “management by wandering around” in management. If I sit on my chair and recommend new strategies remotely, I will not succeed. A real strategist should engage deeply with the industry and the process.

Mansour Kiarash: I would appreciate it if you invite somebody to our talk show.

Mohammad Hadi Ranjbar: I invite dear Hamidreza Mohandes, the sales manager at Shahsavand, and dear Saeed Arablooye Moghaddam and who works at the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran (Hamrahe Aval).

Mansour Kiarash: thanks for accepting my invitation.

We talked to a successful manager and we will talk to others, too.