What is enterprise strategy? It is the "how" of achieving the desired end of your efforts (a.k.a., enterprise). Visions, missions, and goals are great -- but without a strategy for achieving them, they are very unlikely to be accomplished.
There are many approaches to strategy planning and implementation, but the following is a simplified version of the processes used by Peak Enterprises.
- Clarify the aspect(s) of your status quo that you want to change. E.g., "Stagnant revenue."
- Clarify what you want your new status quote -- or better yet, trajectory -- to be in the future. E.g., "Revenue increasing by at least X% annually."
- Define your strategy objective(s). How will you get from here to there? This statement is usually structured as verb + adjective + noun. It is important to understand that an effective strategy generally involves more than a single stated objective. More likely, the strategy will involve multiple objectives working together.
- Bring your strategic objectives together into a strategy statement. This usually reads something like, "We will [accomplish the desired change] by [accomplishing strategic objective 1] and [accomplishing strategic objective 2]." Don't take any shortcuts -- a strategy that misses key elements or insufficiently clarifies the relationships between those elements is a recipe for failure.
- Define your strategic measure(s). How will you numerically measure your progress and ultimate success?
- Plan your strategic initiative. This is where the hypothetical must become practical. One good approach to this step is to fill in the statement, "In order to accomplish our strategic objectives, we will do X." Then, "In order to accomplish X, we will do Y." Keep filling in these increasingly detailed steps until you have a concrete action plan of steps that you will actually be able to take.
Give it a try! If you find this process difficult (as it often is) or simply want feedback, contact us!
