Tool 1. A BUSINESS STRATEGY FRAMEWORK

About This Tool

When it comes to thinking and acting "strategically, the views of many leaders range from intimidation to skepticism, to underestimating what it takes, to overestimating what it delivers. Experts suggest far more strategies fail than succeed at producing their intended results. So it's important to understand some of the keys around what strategy is and what it isn't:

• Fundamentally, it's a systematic way of exposing and acting on reality
• Plans and ideas are not strategic just because they are long-term in their scope
• A strategy is far more than a plan, and must include details around execution
• Strategic thinking is about being close enough to the business to know the right questions to ask
• Financial goals should be an outcome, not a driver, of the strategy

Despite the claims of some, there are no sure-fire templates for creating an effective strategy. But there are some common elements that can be taken from the various success stories out there. This strategy framework pulls together elements from those field-proven approaches.

Using This Tool

The following Strategy Framework is just one framework to consider. It covers a range of important variables from identifying key stakeholders to monitoring progress and adjusting as needed. It's not intended to make you a strategic expert, but to help you lead and make meaningful contributions to the strategic process. In using this tool, there are some key points to remember including:

• Poor execution will render the most insightful strategy ineffective
• Those who have to implement the strategy should be integrally involved in creating it
• A comparable amount of commitment and intensity should be devoted to all five steps
• It's your stakeholders, not management, who must judge the strategy's success

You can use this framework in a number of ways including: providing advance structure for management planning meetings or retreats; rescuing wheel-spinning management discussions; helping frame or contribute to your company's business planning process; coaching individual managers to be more strategic; and understanding the key linkages between your business and HR strategies.

home | what we do | our total solution | about us | what makes us different | contact us
training | consulting | keynotes | testimonials | speaking engagements | value chain labs