When writing about Golden State Foods’ 2021 R&D Team of the Year award, one thing that stood out to me about the Irvine-based company was its ability to integrate strategy and innovation into all they did. Bob Wolpert, Corporate Senior Vice President and Chief Strategist and Innovation Officer, contributed this article.

“Innovation is for tech companies.”

“Strategy cannot be controlled”

Both are false. Golden State Foods (GSF), recognizes that these ideas of strategy and innovation are not healthy. Leaders of companies must be able to adapt to the rapid pace of technology, pervasive ideastion, and shorter idea-to-value cycles. GSF is on an exciting train journey to be a respected and trusted partner for our customers. This journey may be beneficial for your business.

Strategia used to be focused on initiatives that guided corporate direction over a five year period. It was possible to examine alternatives over multiple years. It was common to place larger bets on the strategic plan for years four and five. There is no need to over-pressurize daily operations with strategic imperatives. There was plenty of time. These days, it’s not so. GSF, like many other companies, moved to a three year strategic planning cycle. It worked and it is still GSF’s strategic plan horizon. However, there was more to be done.

Innovation was once a specialized area for tech companies and new product development. Sometimes, innovation would be a big deal for daily operations, but it is rare. LEAN, Six-Sigma, and continuous improvement teams provided a steady boost to operations. These team projects were primarily focused on quality and incremental efficiency. True innovation was often thought to be happening elsewhere. These days, it is not so.

GSF embraces the idea of an innovation continuum. Basic process improvements can lead to innovation. Every associate has a voice and can offer innovative ideas. Change must be seen as a positive thing. GSF should also pay attention to new-to the-world products, processes, and business models. These changes are occurring at an accelerating pace throughout the innovation continuum.

Alarm! More than 100 GSF leaders met for a two-day thought leadership meeting off-site in early 2019. The event was kicked off by an outside speaker who delivered a fast-paced, direct message emphasizing that change is not going to slow down and will only accelerate. It was captivating. Everyone was excited and eager to discuss how GSF could embrace change further and innovate faster.

GSF later held a speed-ideation session on innovation at the same off-site meeting. The three same questions were asked again and again, so the table groups brainstormed the answers. The room buzzed with enthusiasm and energy about the possibilities. The session was concluded by moderators. After that, the brainstorming list was collected for consolidation.

It was now clear. GSF was prepared to bring strategy conversations closer to innovation discussions. Strategy and innovation must be closely connected with the rapid pace of change. Our strategies must include the entire continuum of innovation, from continuous improvement to new-tothe-world. It’s there. We got it.

Let’s start with some background. GSF is a private, large-scale food and beverage processing and logistics service provider to more than 100 brand customers. We have been in business for nearly 75 years and now feed over five billion people each day through more 125,000 locations around the world. We put our customers first, and work quietly in the background. GSF made the conscious decision in 2018 to invest in digital technologies that would capture value. GSF adopted the motto “Think Big, start small, go fast” and funded three pilot projects that used different combinations of IoT and blockchain. We began small and moved quickly. Two pilots “failed quickly.” One pilot has progressed and helped to shape our thinking on digital transformation and supply chain visibility. Importantly, the idea of “Think Big. Start Small. Go Fast” is now widely known throughout GSF.

GSF will spend 2021 on the GSF 2022-2024 Strategic Plan. We needed to encourage our best thinking through broad participation. These work streams are used by GSF early in their strategic planning process to encourage great thinking, discussion and collaboration.

  • 2030 Vision Teams
  • Outside Advice on Industry Trends
  • Associate Engagement for Strategy Inputs

Many of you are looking for outside advice about impactful trends. We hope you all find ways to involve your associates, solicit ideas, and turn the best ideas into actions. GSF is open to outside advice and often seeks out associate ideas. GSF’s 2030 Vision Teams was a new initiative that proved to be a huge success. Let’s share the objectives, process guidelines, and highlights of success with you.

GSF’s 2030 Vision Teams were created as part of GSF’s strategic planning process. They have several objectives:

  • Get together bright minds to discuss the trends and technologies that will affect GSF by 2030
  • Talk about ideas without being constrained by investment limitations and competing priorities in the near future
  • Expand the innovation and strategy dialogue to include more GSF leaders at the beginning of the strategic planning process
  • Inspire energy and recognition of the speed of change.

Six teams were formed, with an average of 10 GSF bright minds per group. The six team captains were chosen first. After that, the team captains could recruit their own members. To ensure inclusion and diversity, we collected draft team rosters. The good news is that team captains were able to make great draft picks and no roster adjustments were required.

These questions were asked by the six 2030 Vision Teams in 12 weeks. They had to answer them within a maximum of 10 slides.

  • Which trends will have the greatest impact on your business group by 2030?
  • What new technologies are you going to use every day in your business?
  • What can we do in 2022-2024? How can we prepare for 2030 and create a sustainable competitive edge?

Each 2030 Vision Team managed its own time for the 12 weeks leading up to final presentations. Virtual meetings were common for most teams, with many meeting once a week for just a few hours. Each team chose their team name. Each team decided on a team name in the first few meetings. This allowed for creativity and collaboration.

With thoughtful instructions, presentation dates were established. Slide presentations take 30 minutes, and dialog and questions take 30 minutes. The teams were introduced by their captains, with multiple members of each team presenting for each one. GSF Strategy Council is the audience. It consists of 27 senior leaders from GSF including our CEO and presidents of business groups.

The six-hour-long 2030 Vision Team meetings proved to be a huge success. The presenters stopped at the end each slide (10 slides for each team), and Strategy Council members engaged in questions and dialogue. The virtual meeting energy was high and the two-way dialogue created a lasting connection between team members, senior leaders at GSF. Sixty members of the team had the chance to exchange views on the future and how GSF could best prepare.

Cross-pollination continues. Members of the 2030 Vision Team are now participating in the traditional three year strategic planning process. All the great conversations about what’s coming and what GSF can accomplish in 2022-2024 in order to be at the top of our game by 2030 get incorporated into strategy trade-off discussions. There is a greater level of collaboration. We have a higher level of collaboration. This is largely due to our shared experience in exercising our strategic thinking muscles.

A successful strategy for strategic planning requires speed and connectivity. These two essential elements are part of many successful innovations in the innovation continuum. Golden State Foods is dedicated to constantly improving and changing our processes in order to keep up with the pace of rapid change. We hope that sharing our GSF story will help other foodservice companies to find ways to engage employees, foster innovation, and develop strategies for 2030.