Strategy development. 
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there.
If you have a good idea of where you want to be, you need a strategy to guide you in the right direction.
Consultants can charge millions to help you develop it.You can develop it yourself, consciously or by accident. In any case, numerous studies have proven that:
- Successful companies have a clear vision of where they are going and why they are different.
- They develop a deliberate, time-phased plan to get there.
- Fine tuning and adjusting on a regular basis, as the environment evolves, keeps them successful.
This sounds easy to some, but don't kid yourself - there is nothing easy about it. Good strategic development requires a lot of THINKING and hard choices. It is at least as much about what you are NOT going to do, what products or services you are NOT going to sell, what customers are NOT your target, as it is what you ARE targeting. Being everything to everyone is not a strategy; it is most often a recipe for poor performance.
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Key steps in strategy development:1. Decide on your core MISSION and VISION. What makes you unique ? What is different about your company; so different that no-one else can make the same claim? 2. What strategies do you have in place to achieve this vision? 3. What specific long-term objectives will allow you to implement your strategies and accomplish your vision. 4. What has to happen this year to achieve objectives-what are your annual priorities? How do you measure success for these priorities, and what are your specific goals? |
We use a web to demonstrate strategy development. Everything originates from your Mission/Vision, with your key strategies driving objectives and annual goals in specific areas as you move out from the high level Mission/Vision. In addition, the more integrated these become, the stronger your strategic web becomes to help you achieve your vision and succeed over the competition.
Not included in this diagram is the continued expansion of the web, reaching everyone in the organization every day. Your organization's annual goals need to be broken down into goals by area and key action plans required to achieve these goals. Goals don't just happen with business as usual - you have to take proactive actions to change and improve your performance.