How do you manage external changes to stay aligned?

1 Assess the impact

The first step is to assess the impact of the external change on your business. How does it affect your value proposition, your competitive advantage, your customer segments, your revenue streams, or your cost structure? What are the opportunities and threats that arise from the change? What are the assumptions and risks that you need to test and mitigate? Use tools such as SWOT analysis, PESTEL analysis, or scenario planning to evaluate the implications of the change and identify the gaps and priorities for your strategy.

2 Communicate and engage

The second step is to communicate and engage with your stakeholders, both internal and external. How do you inform and involve your employees, customers, partners, suppliers, investors, or regulators about the change and its impact on your business? How do you solicit and incorporate their feedback, suggestions, and concerns? How do you align their expectations, interests, and incentives with your strategy? Use tools such as surveys, interviews, focus groups, workshops, or newsletters to communicate and engage with your stakeholders and build trust and commitment.

3 Adapt and innovate

The third step is to adapt and innovate your strategy, goals, and actions to respond to the change. How do you modify or redesign your products, services, processes, or business models to meet the changing needs and demands of your customers and the market? How do you leverage or develop new capabilities, resources, or partnerships to create and deliver value? How do you experiment, learn, and iterate to find the best solutions? Use tools such as lean canvas, value proposition canvas, or business model canvas to adapt and innovate your strategy, goals, and actions.

4 Monitor and evaluate

The fourth step is to monitor and evaluate your performance and progress in the face of the change. How do you measure and track your key indicators, outcomes, and impacts? How do you compare and benchmark your results with your targets, competitors, or best practices? How do you identify and address the issues, challenges, or gaps that emerge along the way? How do you celebrate and reward the successes and learnings that you achieve? Use tools such as balanced scorecard, OKRs, KPIs, or dashboards to monitor and evaluate your performance and progress.

5 Review and update

The fifth step is to review and update your strategy, goals, and actions based on the feedback, data, and insights that you collect and analyze. How do you reflect and learn from your experiences, successes, and failures? How do you incorporate the new knowledge, skills, or competencies that you acquire? How do you adjust or refine your strategy, goals, and actions to improve your alignment, effectiveness, or efficiency? How do you prepare for the next change that may occur? Use tools such as after-action reviews, lessons learned, or strategy maps to review and update your strategy, goals, and actions.

6 Stay aligned

The final step is to stay aligned with your vision, mission, and values throughout the change process. How do you ensure that your strategy, goals, and actions are consistent and coherent with your purpose, direction, and principles? How do you maintain and reinforce your culture, identity, and reputation? How do you inspire and motivate your stakeholders to share and support your vision, mission, and values? Use tools such as vision statements, mission statements, or core values to stay aligned with your vision, mission, and values.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?