Donald Davis
Seven Steps To Strategic Success – How To Create A Strategy
Updated: Nov 6
Don Davis PhD, MBA
How to Create A Strategy: Seven Steps To Strategic Success
If someone were to ask you today to create a strategy, where would you start? Based on previous experience I would suggest that you start with defining a strategy in the view of your key stakeholder, customer or client.
Definition
A strategy is not a Vision, a vision outlines why an organization does something. A strategy is not a Mission, a mission outlines what an organization is going to do. A Strategy is how an organization is going to achieve the things that it has outlined in the Vision & Mission and for the customers or the people they are taking action for.
The term "strategy" originates from the Greek word strategos, meaning " generalship". It combines two words: "stratos" (army) and "ago" (to lead). Strategy in business is the science of planning and marshaling resources for their most efficient and effective use.
Strategy defined can be difficult to understand. There are different ways to define strategy, but at its most basic, strategy is about making choices. It's about deciding what you're going to do and what you're not going to do.
Strategic Planning
Strategic planning is an important process for any business or organization. It allows you to set goals and achieve them in a systematic way.
There are many different aspects to consider when creating strategy development. You will need to think about your organization's mission statement, vision statement, and core business values. You will also need to do some research on your industry and your competition with existing markets. Once you have all of these relevant information, you can start to create your plan and business priorities.
Creating a strategic plan is not a one-time event. It is a continuous process that should be reviewed through designed key performance indicators, and updated by the management team on a regular basis. By following these tips, you can create a strategic plan that will help your business or organization achieve its goals.
Strategic planning processes can involve bringing in an external consultancy to review the company's situation, to check external factors and give recommendations, or it can be done entirely within the company by a team of employees. Strategic planning is a comprehensive and continuous process that helps most organizations achieve their short term goals and even their long-term goals.
There are many benefits to strategic planning. It can help you identify better decisions and action plan, allocate resources more effectively, and take advantage of opportunities as they arise. Strategic planning can also help you avoid or mitigate risks.
Business Strategy
Most organizations have some sort of strategy, even if it's just a basic plan to focus on how to achieve their future goals. But not all businesses have a well-defined strategy that takes into account all the factors that could impact their success.
A good strategy should be clear, achievable, and measurable. It should also be flexible enough to adapt to changing conditions.
There are different types of business strategies that companies can use to achieve business growth and expansion. The three main types of business strategies are:
-Growth strategy
-Cost-cutting strategy
-Market expansion strategy
Effective Business Strategy
As the world of business becomes more and more competitive, it is essential for companies to have a well-defined and effective business strategy. But what exactly is a business strategy? And what makes an effective one?
A business strategy can be defined as a long-term plan of action designed to achieve a specific goal or set of goals. Effective business strategies are those that are able to achieve the desired results while also being adaptable and flexible enough to deal with unexpected challenges.
There are many different factors that need to be taken into account when creating an effective business strategy. Perhaps one of the most important is understanding your audience. Who are you trying to reach with your product or service? What needs or wants do they have that you can address?
Once you have a good understanding of your target market, you need to set some realistic and achievable goals. What exactly do you want to achieve with your business strategy? Make sure these goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
Once you have your goals in place, it's time to start planning how you're going to achieve them. This is where things like market analysis, competitive research, and SWOT analysis come into play. You need to understand your industry and what challenges you may face in achieving your goals.
Once you have all of this information, you can start putting together your business strategy. Effective strategies are those that are well-planned and thought out, taking into account all of the different factors involved. Effective strategies are also adaptable, so that if things don't go according to plan, you can make necessary changes.
Successful Business Strategy
When it comes to business, there is no one-size-fits-all strategy for success. However, there are certain essential ingredients that all successful businesses have in common.
The first step to creating a successful business strategy is defining your goals. What does your business want to achieve? Once you have set goals, you need to understand your customers and what they value. What are their needs and how can your business meet them?
Next, take a look at your competition. Who are they and what are they doing well? What can you learn from them? Develop a unique selling proposition or brand that sets you apart from the competition. If your new strategy will take you into new markets what can be learned about the markets and what has been tried. Taking advantage of the success or failure of others will speed your learning about what will work in the future for your organization.
Create a marketing mix that supports your business goals. This mix should include elements like market research, product development, pricing strategy, and promotion. Consider interviewing potential customers about your marketing mix so that you can gain a different perspective.
Set measurable objectives and track progress so you can see how well your strategy is working. Finally, review and adjust your strategy on a regular basis to ensure that it is still on track.
By following these seven steps, you can develop a successful business strategy that will help you achieve your goals.
Setting a strategy should have the following basic outline:
Market Analysis
Competitive Analysis
SWOT – Strengthens, Weakness, Opportunities, and Threats
Strategic Objectives – An outline of the key things that you are going to impact (customer, financial, growth, etc.)
Strategy Map – For each strategic objective, the things you can do to offset each one of these items
Key Initiatives – The specific details or things you are going to implement to achieve your strategy.
What will you measure along the way to know if you are on track?
PreWork
A small group can assemble the pre-work needed for building a strategy. The market analysis, competitive analysis, and slide templates can all be completed prior to getting the larger team together that will be assembling the strategy.
Invite
Your invite to your strategy session is critical to building something that has too small of thinking or that is not impacted by groupthink. Having all departments represented is important. Having people from different races, genders, and perspectives is also critical. Sometimes a fresh or historic perspective is also important.
Tools
Developing a strategy for me is much more fun with flip charts and post-it notes. Tools I have used in the COVID-19 social distancing era are:-Lucidchart or Google Slides – so that teams can edit slides together.-Miro or Xmind – for mind mapping or quickly assembling ideas within the session.
Conclusion
In your strategy session, it is an opportunity to leap over competition and think differently. “Strategy is about setting yourself apart from the competition. It’s not a matter of being better at what you do – it’s a matter of being different at what you do.” – Michael Porter Having a solid strategy for an organization is not just a tremendous objective for leaders and shareholders. A solid strategy is also a great execution tool for anyone within the organization; it helps to set true north.