Business Strategy

the development of a great business strategy is a tedious and demanding task.  i am not speaking here about many of the so called business strategies that i see in the market which are simply short lists of high-level trends or longer lists (oftentimes 100 or more) of detailed desires with no priorities or implementation estimates.  i am speaking here about professional, well-focused strategies resulting in no more than 2 to 3 (hopefully fewer) major directional thrusts, each with a priority, "go, no-go" test points, and a well thought out implementation plan.

everyone business needs a strategy, but few are willing to invest the time and energy (mental and physical) to develop a great one.

if you are thinking about developing a business strategy, here are a few thoughts which may assist you in your thinking;

• a strategy cannot fix or repair poor leadership.  if leadership is micro-focused in areas of personal interest rather than providing visionary leadership for the whole company, developing a strategy is just wasting money
• strategy development is a company process.  the process team itself should include one to three of your best, most promising professionals.  that way they live the process and understand the "why" of the resulting direction
• when you undertake business strategy development and implementation within the company, you also simultaneously undertake cultural change.  cultural change if done well can be many times more demanding than the strategy process itself
• the strategy process is brief; any process that does not produce a major milestone or a final product (depending upon the complexity of the industry/company) within three to four months, will likely dissolve into meaninglessness through its own entropy
• if you require outside (your company) assistance, hire a professional with strategy competency even if that professional is a novice to your industry; look for strategy experience over industry experience. there is an old saying; "when faced with a dilemma, the expert sees few options while the novice sees many".  in today's rapidly changing world, you need the "many"
• strategy development requires a baseline; an understanding of how your customers and competitors perceive your company today, as well as how they perceive your products and services.  take the time to do this work
• there is no perfect or standard business strategy development process.  the process varies by company personality, market opportunity and current market position
• the resulting strategy can build upon the thinking of the world today, not just upon the great minds within your company.

Alessi is a company who's strategy called for the use of open network innovation to compete in the difficult home products marketplace.  their strategy didn't call for hiring all the bright minds that they needed, but to use open network innovation to propel their company ahead of the competition.  read about them, there are many lessons to be learned