Strategy

All strategies should be built on (and incorporate) a solid Purpose, connecting your personal “why” with your business “why”. When these two intersect and complement each other, business owners and leaders feel more authentic about the work that they do, and have more energy and drive to motivate themselves and others.

If your Purpose is your “why”, then your Values are your “how” – the behaviours that you and your People should follow, not just within your team, but also when dealing with your Customers, Suppliers and key partners, eg your investors, lenders and trusted advisers. In combination, your Purpose and Values should guide the rest of your Strategic Plan.

Many businesses invest in their Purpose and Values when they launch, but can lose sight of them over time – so we recommend that they be tested and updated at least annually.

Strategy needs to take into account internal and external factors, as a solid foundation for designing the Actions you and your People will take, so it’s important to check market & industry trends, along with accurate data to develop a clear picture of external Opportunities and Threats, eg from competitors. Combining that data with an up to assessment of your internal Strengths and Weaknesses and risks will give you a strong sense of where your business currently stands, and what it might need to do.

But the next step is to reconfirm your business Goals, ensuring of course that they are aligned with your Purpose. We believe it’s best to have three horizons for your Goals:

Long term – say 10 years.
Medium term – say 3-5 years.
Short term – the coming year.

Its important that your short and medium term Goals are aligned to your long term Goals, because its our experience that businesses can only really plan and budget for Actions for the short term, but they need to be firmly aligned with, and practical ways and means towards whatever success ultimately looks like.

Once short term strategic Actions have been determined they need to be scheduled, assigned and resourced to ensure that they are executed well over the next 12 month, and all of that information needs to be captured in your business’s Strategic Plan, preferably on a single page.

Research has shown that businesses that manage their environmental and social impacts and Structures & Risks well are more valuable in the medium to long term.  Sustainable businesses:

1. Reduce waste, emissions, inequality, and the usage of natural resources 
2. Recycle or up-cycle energy, water, equipment and materials
3. Improve diversity & inclusion, operational efficiencies & effectiveness, Customer satisfaction & Value and practice “green” purchasing

The key principle behind all of the above is that we meet our own needs now without also compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, through business practices that are environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. Similarly, businesses owners and leaders that manage themselves in a sustainable way are more likely to be successful.  Business owner and leader “burnout” is one of the main reasons that businesses fail.  While work / life balance or harmony is a big challenge for business owners, it is possible to progressively build a business that is independent of yourself, while still meeting your immediate needs and without compromising your Goals, with the right perspective and planning.

Very few business founders or purchasers plan their personal exit strategy from day one – it usually seems to be something to worry about further down the journey. However, it’s vital to consider how you set up your business for long term health and value that is independent from your personal involvement at the earliest opportunity, to ensure that you do not “build in” those risks.

A critical part of this journey is your leadership succession planning – identifying who within (or outside) your business might eventually take on more responsibilities over time. These people should allow you to step back “from leader to owner” in time, or may even become a future business partner or purchaser. Furthermore, succession planning will help you retain and develop your best people who might otherwise leave to join your competitors, or start their own businesses.

Finally, planning for ownership succession early will help you think proactively about who you might want to sell out to, or to take advantage of an unexpected buyout offer.

All good Strategic Plans incorporate milestone checks to ensure that all required Actions are being taken in the right order of priority – so we recommend that business owners and leaders schedule at least a quarterly review of their Strategic Plan implementation. This is also a good time to make changes that might be required because of material changes to your business circumstances, eg your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. We also suggest that businesses use a balanced scorecard, covering all Six Pillars of business health, as part of that monitoring process.

Before commencing your next Strategic Plan we also recommend that you review your business’s health at least annually with an objective and comprehensive Business Health Check so that you can see both what you are doing well and what might need improvement.

While we do our best to explain this best practice approach to Strategic Planning, it may be helpful if we advise you the first time around – then you will understand how everything fits together to ensure that your business Strategy will help you achieve your Purpose and Goals.

All good Strategic Plans incorporate milestone checks to ensure that all required Actions are being taken in the right order of priority – so we recommend that business owners and leaders schedule at least a quarterly review of their Strategic Plan implementation.  This is also a good time to make changes that might be required because of material changes to your business circumstances, eg your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.  We also suggest that businesses use a balanced scorecard, covering all Six Pillars of business health, as part of that monitoring process. 

Before commencing your next Strategic Plan we also recommend that you review your business’s health at least annually with an objective and comprehensive Business Health Check so that you can see both what you are doing well and what might need improvement. 

While we do our best to explain this best practice approach to Strategic Planning, it may be helpful if we advise you the first time around – then you will understand how everything fits together to ensure that your business Strategy will help you achieve your Purpose and Goals.