What is Strategy and How to Build One
First of all what is Strategy?
The way I put into words, strategy is the main path drawn to reach the identified opportunities by utilizing your capabilities, competencies, and resources.
And what strategy is not: A “strategy” is not simply a goal, objective, wish, or aspiration; it’s not just a plan, and it does not involve stating desired results without outlining the specific actions to achieve them; essentially, “strategy” is not about what you want to achieve without putting into words or action how you will achieve it.
There are many other definitions or ways of seeing what strategy is out there. Some of them are:
- Strategy as a Plan: Consciously, and purposefully developed set of actions, guidelines.
- Strategy as a Ploy/Maneuvre: The conscious, purposeful plan that is mainly to threaten, not to act as declared
- Strategy as a Pattern: Even if not consciously intended, aggregated stream of actions with a patttern. Assumes that strategy can be emergent, formed as well as being formulated.
- Strategy as a Position: Locating an organization (or oneself, or a group, team) into its environment. Usually identified with respect to competitors.
- Strategy as a Perspective: The character, and personality of the organization might be named as strategy: Aggressive pacesetters, protectors, etc..
The Fundamental Steps to Formulating a Strategy:
- Conduct a brainstorming session to honestly evaluate yourself and identify opportunities.
- Identify your core Strengths and Weaknesses, as well as the Opportunities and Threats in your environment (SWOT Analysis).
- Research deeply into the opportunities in your environment that attract you or seem closely aligned with your objectives.
- Customize your SWOT analysis based on these opportunities. Determine what each SWOT element truly represents for you and your potential stakeholders, and outline what actions you can take in response.
- Create a Resources/Competencies vs. Opportunity Attractiveness Matrix and honestly and diligently consider which competencies you can improve to make the opportunity more achievable (Arrows from A and C), which you can not (B), and which opportunities can be made more attractive (Arrow from D) and which ones can not.
- Brainstorm ways to seize the attractive opportunities that fall into the “green zone” of your matrix, where your capabilities align well with high-opportunity areas. If possible, aim to outline a main path (Strategy) that combines the two.
- Update the actions in your SWOT analysis to:
- Focus on the opportunities in the “green zone.”
- Develop your capabilities in the “yellow zone.”
- Set aside the “red zone” items for the time being.
- Take action to implement the steps you’ve identified.
These steps provide a structured and actionable framework for identifying opportunities, aligning them with your capabilities, and defining a clear strategy for success.