Demystify “Strategy”: Simple but Significant

The first week of 2021 - Organisations and Companies are back in business!

As usual, many new companies will be started in January and many will also close business while the existing ones will question their presence and relevance.

All in all, many organization/ businesses will look back to this famous question; What is our strategy for this year?

"Strategy" - Just as it sounds, it is one of the most commonly misused words in business and/or management. Some use it as a high-level approach to things and some use it as a synonym for a structured approach.

My experience working in Management Consulting, I have seen managers being unprepared for the strategy sessions which leaves employees terrified to attend the sessions because of its complexity and mainly doing unstructured activities which are mentally exhausting.

As you start your business year: Strategy is what you will do every day - it is the reflection of the decisions you make every day 

A strategy is choosing what to do and what not to do. 

In the simplest terms, strategy is making important decisions about what you will do and what you will not do whilst keeping in mind the opportunity cost of your decision (trade-offs)

Strategy sessions can be informative, exhaustive and yet fun and enjoyable for everyone. Because I said it should be simple - It does not mean that everyone can run them. You need structures and processes in place to make those choices that require you to either do X or Y.

5 key questions you need to ask yourself before choosing what to do and what not to do (Picking a strategy)

1. Where do you want to be within a year?
2. What should you do more? & What should you stop doing?
3. What are the biggest challenges the organization is facing?
4. How can we improve the product/service that you offer?
5. What are your customers/stakeholder expectations changing and what might they want in the future?

You can rely on different resources online to help you plan your strategy session or look for organisations that have expertise on that. And if you need one, I am happy to help. If you have any questions, just drop them in the comment section below.