How To Build Great Strategy - The One Thing You Need To Get Right
There is a flow of events that happen every time a business lands on a great strategy. I have seen them happen time and again and they look like this:
GREAT STRATEGY
comes from making great...
CHOICES
which are the result of making...
DECISIONS
which are simply...
ANSWERS
to (the right)...
QUESTIONS!
Being able to create and build a great strategy will depend entirely on the ability of a company's leadership to find the answers to questions like:
- Why do our clients actually pick us over the competition? Are we the lowest price in the market? Do we have the best product? Do we understand our market segment better then anyone else? Do we offer the best client experience?
- Where do we need to continue to invest to maintain our edge? (efficiencies? innovation? brand? training?)
- What are the 2 most important projects we need to focus on over the next 12-18 months to drive the change we are envisioning? We have limited resources, what do we absolutely need to get right this year?
- Speaking of vision, do we have one? Is it clear? Communicated? Does our team share it and are they inspired by it?
- Are we in growth mode? If so, how do we want to grow (acquisition, organically, new products...)?
- Are we holding our company back by hanging on to some old limiting beliefs about how we should operate?
- Do we actually have management systems in place to support the type of growth we are seeking?
I could go on. The skill needed to build great strategy isn't only about your ability to ask the right questions, get the answers, and make right decisions and choices, it's also about knowing when to ask those questions and which questions are the most important.
Building a great business is about action and execution, no doubt. But unless that action is the result of a sound strategic approach, rooted in the ability to ask the right questions, your company will struggle, with all the fits and starts I see too often as leaders attempt to drive the change they want.
Business Strategist & Facilitator, Keynote Speaker, Experienced Global Business Leader, Inspiring Sustainable Growth
6 年I completely agree, Mark! ?Typically, the first difficult choice is to allocate more time to have strategic conversations (because that means less time on the day-to-day business). ?Another challenging choice is to focus on a smaller number of alternatives and letting go of trying to do everything!
Founder at The Clear Insight Program
6 年Thank you Alan Oishi?for the inspiration for this post. "it's all about choice", right Alan?