Leadership – The 4 Factors to Consider in Developing Your Business Strategy
As a leader who is part of a leadership team, part of your role is to create, get buy in and deliver a long term business strategy. So what factors do you need to consider in developing your business strategy?
Factor 1: The current state of play
Right now where are you as a business? How are you rated?
o In the marketplace
o Compared to others
o In the eyes of the media
o In the eyes of customer or service users
Factor 2: The end game
In the perfect worlds, where would you like your organisation to be 10 years from now? What will you want to be known for? In other words what’s the end game for the organisation in the longer term? Many organisations are able to create short term success. Much fewer are able to achieve long term sustained success.
Factor 3: The customers, clients you serve or need you meet
Every business had a clear purpose when it was first established. The purpose was probably crystal clear at the start. As businesses grow and develop it is easy to lose sight of the core purpose. Make the time to revisit this when working on your strategy.
Factor 4: What it will take
Having a long term vision that you want to deliver is all well and good. The question you need to be asking in addition is what will it take to deliver the strategy? It might be knowledge, skills, expertise, specific attributes or qualities to name just a few. Be clear on what it will take to deliver the strategy.
Bottom Line – Strategy is much more than just a nice set of hollow words. The question is are you willing to make the time and investment to create a successful strategy?