What IS a strategy, and why do I need one?
This may seem like an obvious question, but few organisations know what or where their strategy is, which may mean they are a bit lost.
Useful for many different aspects of your business, a strategy is a road map with directions that everyone can follow. It is essentially a method of communicating to the people you want to bring with you along the way, a call to arms. If you are gearing up for investment, or you are a new leader to an existing organisation, the road map you develop will elicit in you the trust to get to where you want to go.
It doesn’t have to follow a particular template, it could even be a visual/ diagram or an animation, but it should be focused enough to show your objectives and goals and how you’ll reach them. It does also need to be practically implemented. Through this series I will walk through the different aspects of an organisational strategy. The same overall approach can be used for marketing, branding or even income generation strategies.
I will also break down how to develop something that you won’t want to stick in a top drawer and walk away from. I will introduce some tools to help you think things through as well as explore some of the barriers that may prove to be a roadblock. Aimed at leaders and boards of SME’s who want to make a difference (whether non-profit or private) this approach should help you to bring people together and have a renewed sense of vision and how to Do Good, Be Good and Stay Good.
So why do I need one?
The process of developing a strategy is as important as the finished product. Here are some of the positive side effects of developing one.
1) It gives you permission to reflect and innovate
When you are doing your day job your head is down, you are focused on getting things done. This can end up in malaise, boredom or frustration if you, your staff or general allies forget what its all about. The magic really happens when you take the time out to reassess where you want to be versus where you are. It helps you spot opportunities and different ways of thinking about things.
2) Change Management Tool
Producing a road map can be an effective change management tool, helping you and your employees to engage, collaborate, and achieve results together. These can really help to establish and reinforce a more positive and productive culture.
3) Recruitment and Retention Tool
A strategy is an essential shortcut to explaining your vision to attract the right kind of people to work with you. Often when people are researching if they want to work for you, one of the first things they look for is your strategy, so make it available to them. If they like what they see they are more likely to apply.
4) A sense of place
It helps you, partners, customers and potential funders to understand where you sit in your eco-system and what your role is there. It can help you work collaboratively as well as spark other ideas and identify other eco-systems you could possibly begin to reach.
The above are all the soft (but incredibly important) outcomes of developing a strategy. Is it time you refreshed yours? You can either contact me or read on…
