There is a lot of hoo-ha around ‘strategy’. But is strategy really that complex to understand?
Simply put, ‘strategy’ is how, in general, you intend to achieve your goals.
As there are many ways you could achieve your goals, it is important to clarify how you specifically plan to achieve your goals. That is, what will your strategy be?
Defining your ‘how’ facilitates engagement, efficiency and differentiation from your competitors.
Strategy is HOW, in general, you intend to achieve your goals.
Strategy requires deciding what you will and won’t do
“Business strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position, involving a different set of activities.” (Michael E. Porter)
In business, your strategy defines how you uniquely intend to achieve your goals which differentiates you from your competitors.
To have clear strategies you must decide what you will do, and what you won’t do.
This can be difficult for adolescent businesses who have in the past done anything just to survive and grow.
For mature businesses it can be challenging to distill complex strategies down to something meaningful and relevant to their whole staff.
Examples of strategies
To differentiate yourself from your competitors…
- Are you going to be a low cost provider?
- Will you be the recognised experts?
- Do you offer out of this world service?
To attract and retain the best staff will you…
- Pay at the upper-quartile of market rates?
- Offer flexibility to achieve work-life balance?
- Be a fun, social place to work?
- Provide the best operating conditions – equipment, processes, training, etc?
To increase your profitability will you…
- Focus on sales growth?
- Instigate efficiency improvements?
- Launch existing products into new markets?
- Cross-skill your workforce?
How clear is your strategy – take the test now
Find out what your strategy must do for you
All businesses and organisations must define their strategy clearly so the whole team can understand where they are going and the general plan to get there.
You are in Tips and Tools |