Many founders and CEOs no longer trust their strategic plans, however, they dread starting afresh to develop a new business plan. Strategy refresh, although not a popular term simply solves this problem.
With a business strategy refresh, company owners and managers have the liberty to regularly hit the refresh button on their strategy until it is time to develop a new one.
Do you think your business strategy is flawed?
Every smart business leader is required to evaluate the performance of their organisation to ensure the current strategic action would lead them to their company goals. Before we explain further why you should refresh your strategy, let us give you a clearer picture of what strategy originally means.
Strategy Refresh Session
What is Strategy?
Strategy is a military word that originated from the requirement for nations to apply a system to defeat their enemies. Historically, strategy has changed the map of the world and caused the rise and fall of many nations and civilizations.
Organizations over the course of the past century have adopted the use of strategy to scale better than their competitors. The development and implementation of strategy require a combination of knowledge, technology, and skill. Strategy is important in every organization because the resources available to achieve goals are usually limited.
The whole idea behind strategy for an organisation is to remain relevant and current through profitability, environmental responsibility, and positive social impact.
For any organisation, a business strategic plan points at goals and how they are intended to be achieved. This is often a 3-5years plan with a list of actions to drive the set objectives.
During the strategic planning session, the organisation’s goals are first established, then the business leaders devote themselves to implementing the strategy, utilizing all necessary resources and time. Plans are often reviewed post-implementation. Note that the primary triggers for strategy refresh are survival, scaling, and sustainability
This diagram highlights the structure and techniques of an organisation’s business strategy, explaining the process from the inputs to outputs.
Why do you need Strategy Refresh?
We must all agree that the Covid-19 pandemic whilst creating havoc, changed both the economic and social structure. For many business leaders, adapting to the new normal hasn’t been an easy step. Many multinationals have responded to this new change, by laying off staff and creating home offices. Many even went as far as setting new structures which include eliminating units and departments that are no longer resourceful to the business. This situation equally seems to have taken a greater toll on startups and SMEs.
Although businesses still seek a new approach to the market while retaining their 3-5years strategic plan, many of them are unaware that a strategy refresh can fill the gaps and problems created by these new changes caused by the pandemic.
It is important to use the SWOT and PESTLE analysis to create your strategy refresh. While SWOT analysis helps you evaluate your company internally, the PESTLE framework helps your organisation to understand the external factors affecting it. It is important to know your critical success factors, key performance indicators, and value proposition. Analyzing the aforementioned is typically the first step to aligning your strategy with your vision.
Do you feel less confident about your business strategy? Let us help you!
Westsons can help you with your strategy refresh process. Our proven methodology will help your organisation through the negative impacts of market fluctuations and the mirage of problems generated by factors beyond control.
