Strategic Focus and Accountability

Introduction

Developing a strategic focus for a company enables the firm to focus its efforts on:

1. its current strengths,
2. while developing new strengths that it views as being important for the future of the company and its mandate.

This allows the firm to get the biggest bang for its buck now and in the future, building long term value.

By doing what it says it will do, and by choosing not to do certain things, it shows it is accountable to itself and its stakeholders.

Current Strengths

In the short-term, a company has certain strengths that it can leverage now. Its staff, capital stock and its environment is well known by the company. By focusing on its strengths now, it can deliver the most value possible.

And Develop New Strengths

At the same time, a company must look forward to see where it needs to be in the medium and long term, and add the skills sets it will need and influence the environment to ensure the company can continue to add significant future value. This strategic vision is much like moving to where the puck will be, not staying where it was.

At times this means catch-up, and at other times it is about building the future as a bleeding-edge innovator.

Frameworks & Domains

Useful frameworks and domains like industry clusters, global value chains, forward-looking talent and education strategies, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Improving access to capital, and forward-looking approaches to accessing land, innovative, growth-positive tax regimes (which are revenue-neutral) and other tools can help companies, partners and overall industry sectors/sub-sectors/cluster add massive amounts of value to everyone involved.

Cluster basics: Cluster Development in Twelve Steps

We cannot be Luddites or Naysayers

We cannot be naysayers, but have to work to get to yes in an authentic and accountable way. Sometimes it is about preparing the ground for future or related wins, sometimes it is about the direct win.