Start-up or old business, small or big, every company needs a strategy. Although not all businesses get it right straight away, there is a natural weakness within all organisations for various reasons. Business strategy tries to remedy the shortcomings so that companies do not trip up and suffer significant impacts. Strategy is imperative because it gives businesses time to understand their performance, capabilities, and how they can help them grow. An articulate approach enables an organisation to look at future risks and develop ways to overcome possible obstacles.
As things change rapidly, it is crucial to align the organisational compass to reach the desired destination. Therefore, developing an excellent strategy to align the company’s vision with its customers, operational improvement, innovation, people, new products, partnering, technology, and information management is an essential bedrock for an organisation’s growth and success of an organisation (UK Chartered Management Institute).
Strategy Development is simply the process of researching, recognising and classifying options, selecting the most promising and determining how to achieve the organisation objectives using allocated resources. A strategy sometimes may change in response to shifting market dynamics. A well-developed strategy should be executable; otherwise, it is a mere theory. Many organisations have developed a robust strategy but have failed at operationalising their strategies into implantable steps (Hinge Marketing, 2021).
To avoid strategy failure, a well-developed and executable strategy should be:
- Realistic: The entire organisation can see that the objectives are achievable.
- Flexible: Ability to adapt to change but in line with the vision and mission of the organisation
- Focused: All stakeholders (employees and customers) fully grasp the clear and defined goals
- Creative: The strategic objectives will inspire commitment from all parties involved and ensure uniqueness
- Responsive: Consideration of market, economic and environmental conditions
- Engaging: In line with the organisational values and culture
According to research conducted by a leading US-based consulting firm, there are distinct reasons why companies go through a significant transformation. Some of these reasons for the change include creating a higher purpose mission, leveraging a core capability to enter new growth markets and taking advantage of digital opportunity via new platforms and business models. It was further highlighted that twenty organisations have gone through a paradigm shift in finding the best route to their destination from where they were. Some of these organisations include NETFLIX, Adobe, Amazon, Microsoft, Alibaba, Neste, Siemens, Cisco, and many more are part of the twenty lists (The 2019 T20 Rankings) of companies that have transformed in the last decades through well-developed and executable strategies.
Thus, in developing an achievable strategy, an organisation should find answers to questions such as;
- Where are you now?
- What does the future bring?
- Who are your competitors?
- How and why will you stand out from the crowd?
- Why is the future state important?
- How do you move from where you are to where you want to be?
Finding answers to the above questions will guide the organisation to set realistic long-term goals, access the company’s direction and threats, and map out the strategic plans.
Developing and executing a business strategy is one of our strengths at (pcl.) Phillips Consulting Limited. We grasp the importance of corporate strategy to every business. At pcl. we support clients from established companies, Governments Agencies, and start-ups with our strategy services to help them make meaningful changes in their businesses and guide them towards the organisation’s vision. Our Strategy and Operations teams work side-by-side with clients to develop an executable strategy to drive organisational transformation.
We’ll help transform your business, guiding you through every step, from strategic development to implementation, through our exclusive model tailored to our client’s needs. At pcl. we work with clients throughout their transformation journey to deliver a strategy that achieves a lasting impact.
Our business strategy experts will help you navigate this journey with a well-thought-out strategy to address these opportunities.
Kindly contact pcl. Strategy and Operation Teams (SOT) via strategy@phillipsconsulting.net for inquiry and engagement.
Written by:
Ambrose Adebayo
Assistant Consultant
