Two focuses of my blog are Financial Literacy/Money and Business/Entrepreneurship. You can simply launch a business, or your can launch it with a set strategy which is highly recommended. The following contributed post is entitled, How To Create A Business Strategy.
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One of the hardest and yet most exciting things about running a business is that you can do what you want with it. You can keep it small; you can scale it for growth – it’s yours to make the decisions that shape its future.
But the word behind all of these things is Strategy. It is the Strategy that you create that will guide your business through all of its forms. And companies do change shape over time.
So what are the steps to creating a strategy? What can we learn from strategists like Jonathan Sears, Don Tapscott, and Roger Martin?
Business thinkers and strategists focus on how businesses can grow, pivot, remain agile, and maximize their potential. So what steps can you take to build a strategy that works and start thinking like business greats?
Photo by JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
Vision
The word vision can be divisive and makes people think of different things, but in strategic terms, it is a look into the future of your business. What does the company look like? How does it function? What is success to you?
Make it clear, make it concise, and then live by it.
Targets
How can you measure your success if you don’t set targets and goals? And more importantly, how can you highlight any barriers you have? Many businesses make the mistake of setting loose targets like increasing profit in Q3. What you should be saying is, growing earnings by 15% in Q3.
Get even more specific and talk about the amount down to the cents and pennies.
Make your targets specific, and these clear goals will give you a firm way to track and measure your progress.
Systematic growth
When you see Strategy, think systematically. Systematic step-by-step progress and what that requires investing in people, tech, and equipment.
A strategic plan will highlight and outline who, where, when, and how you should acquire these things. Not only that, but you will have the specifics of your targets to make sure it happens.
Which areas should you grow, when should you grow them, and how.
Facts only
When running a business, it is easy to get hooked on the emotional side of things, and that is why strategists are incredible. They only work on facts. They receive points in the form of data and information, process it, and make decisions based on those decisions.
Agility Matters
Most businesses aren’t ships, and they don’t need months to turn; they can change and adapt in as little as a few days. Adapting to the new data, lightweight strategic framework, and working to a plan at all times will mean you can easily spot how you can whip things around.
To remain agile, you will need to keep on top of that weekly; a good example is that Amazon (love them or hate them) has a meeting that focuses on Strategy every week.
One of the essential parts of a strategy for your business is discipline. The discipline to focus on the targets, adhere to the vision and prioritize things that make the business move forward.
All facets of your business need a strategy, and here is how to improve one of the most important: How Do You Get A Better ROI From Your Marketing Strategy.
