Let’s talk strategy!

But despite all the information and gurus available on strategy, the subject often seems to be mysterious to many, leaving business owners without a clear understanding about their own business strategy.

The question we need to ask ourselves as business owners is: Does my business have a clear, focused and actionable strategy, and maybe even more importantly a winning strategy that can launch the business to the next level, and keep it sustainable in the long run?

According to Professor Michael Porter, of Harvard Business School, one of the all-time experts on strategy, everybody wants to be the best, but the actual goal must be to be unique, and that is one of the key elements in strategy that you need to grasp. It is therefore of critical importance that you need to have a strategy that will differentiate you from others. As a business owner you need to ask yourself, what are your winning aspirations (what is your vision, goals and purpose) where will you play and how will you win? Where to play and how to win are intimately tied, and together it forms the very heart of any strategy, according to Alan Lafley the former CEO of Procter & Gamble. While WHERE to play is about determining the playing field, HOW to winis about defining the method by which you will win on that field. Importantly however, how to win must always be considered within the context of your where-to-play choice.

For you to answer those questions you first need to have insights into the arena you are playing in. For instance, what are the current trends, forces at play that shape the arena, competitors and other external forces that may influence the arena?

Another critical aspect of strategy is to have absolute clarity on your customer value proposition. Understand which clients you are targeting, and in which customer segments and markets will you play, and use the value proposition to investigate assumptions. Ask yourself if you really understand what are important to customers and what their related pains and gains are. Test your assumptions about how your products and services will relieve pains and create gains for the customers you are targeting.

You further need to have a clear focus on what you need to do in order to achieve the goals you set out for the business. Do you want to collaborate or do you want to compete? Do you want to disrupt the industry or do you want to build on others intellectual property? But be careful not to try to do too much, rather decide on four or five critical areas to focus on, to ensure you move the dial and create the necessary momentum to be successful. There is always the risk of strategy being a pipe dream without any execution (often called the strategy gap). Many entrepreneurs are excellent dreamers but fall flat on execution, and thus it is important and critical to question and evaluate your plans, systems, and processes, to get it done. Any good business needs to have the business capabilities and people competencies for them to deliver on its strategy goals.

One of the frameworks that I love to evaluate any business on is the real, win, worth-it framework: Is your service or product desirable (is there a real unmet need), is it feasible (do you have a better solution and can you deliver on it) and is it viable (is it sustainable, cost effective and does it make financial sense)?

To learn more about building a winning strategy via where to play, how to win, how to configure and how to get it done strategy pillars, contact me on 082 563 1087 for customized solutions for your business, and make sure you declutter all the noise and have a crystal-clear plan and understanding of the path to achievement for your business.