Strategy, Your Success Map For Business By NimbilityWorks.com in partnership with DigoBrands.com
Objective October 1 marks the start of strategy month, when executives review their strategy for the new year and its impact on the next three to five years, making adjustments to maximize outcome. With all of the rapid and radical changes in the market, revisiting strategy is now an even more critical success factor. This is known by the best leaders and managers, and implemented by top leaders. This document provides a fresh look at strategy development in today’s world, discusses how to prepare for a Strategy Day, offers questions you can use to facilitate your strategy review, provides guidelines for developing better strategy for the year ahead, and illuminates next steps after your Strategy Day. What is Strategy? Probably one of the most misunderstood words in business, strategy is a visionary activity in creating your future. Here are a few perspectives to consider. Strategy is the “What” you’re going to accomplish and the motivational “Why” you’re going
Strategic leaders create a future that doesn’t yet exist Using methods that haven’t yet been invented Where best practices haven’t yet been established. Strategy is peering into the unknown future and deciding what to make happen. to invest in accomplishing this, even before you know the “How, Where & When” for making this happen. How is strategy different from tactics? Strategy is deciding what is going to happen and tactics are the method to make the strategy happen. Strategy is deciding the destination and tactics are the preparation and journey to the destination. A huge strategy blind-spot that most leaders have is designing the future based on history. You can’t lead in disruption through the rearview mirror. Strategy has two components: Vision is about the future of your customers and society. Mission is about the future of your team and the resources you provide to the marketplace. Planning Your Strategy Day To conduct a world-class strategy day, make these
preparations:
Strategy
Only thinkers should attend this meeting: your board members, strategic executives and advisors who are able to look into the future unconstrained by how you got to your status today. Contemplate what you want the future of your customers and your company to be like next year and in the next three to five years, and how this future helps to build a better world. Set aside during your Strategy Day any overwhelm that all of the details of the journey can create, and solely focus instead on the destination. It may help for you to consider an impossible journey that today feels normal. For example, the Moon landing, building the transcontinental railroad, Lewis & Clark’s expedition, or some impossible experience you’ve had. While timelines and resource commitments may change, the strategy for an impossible journey results in your team becoming determined to achieve it… even before they know how this will occur.
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