Creating a Powerful Strategy

Be clear on the critical challenges, and the rest will follow. 

Strategy development starts with a clear understanding of the key challenges facing the organisation and works through the to the development of a feasible implementation plan:  turning strategic choices into real action, by real people, working in the real world.

 
  • What are the critical challenges facing the organisation?

    How do they impact the business model and Mission of the organisation?

    What happens if no action is taken?

    What are the strategic questions to be answered through the strategy development process?

  • Who needs to be consulted- which internal and external stakeholders?

    What unique perspective do they bring to the strategic questions?

    How do they define the unique value proposition of the organisation?

  • What can we learn from history? We don’t want to make the same mistakes twice.

    What trends will affect the future operating environment and business model of the organisation?

    Are these trends opportunities or threats and how do we get ahead of them?

  • What is the range of possible choices that could be made?

    What criteria do we use for selecting some options and deselecting others?

    What is the mix between evolution (business-as-usual) and revolution (radical change) in the choices we make?

  • Is there a common definition of ‘feasibility’ and ‘impact’ across the organisation?

    Which choices are both feasible and impactful ?

    What are the financial implications of different choices?

  • We can’t do everything at once, so what are the short-term priorities?

    Which initiatives will we undertake, when, and who will be responsible?

    How will we track progress against implementation of the strategy?