Developing strategy to succeed in business
Often we don’t invest enough time thinking strategically about our business.
A recent survey, conducted by The High Center for Family Business at Elizabethtown College and the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry, found that 65% of family businesses do not have a strategic plan.
Many businesses misuse the term strategy
As leaders of businesses, we should make sure that all our efforts are not just focused on operational excellence or continued improvement but on creating a unique set of values. Goals, vision, and particular actions, while very important to any business, are all different from building a true strategy.
Stating “Our strategy is to be No. 1” is a great goal, but it does not define any of the unique values you provide to your customers.
“The creation of a unique and valuable sustainable competitive advantage by performing different activities from rivals or performing similar activities in different ways.”
That definition IS a starting point for business leaders to start thinking clearly about strategy. But all too often we do not invest enough time into thinking strategically about our businesses.
And rather than try to define strategy, we should ask how to develop a strategy, get our team to commit to it and then create a planning process to bring it into fruition?