Business strategic development combines elements of strategic planning, marketing, leadership and management development. It provides a framework around which the decisions affecting the long term success or failure of the business are organized.
The good news is that this vital ongoing strategic business planning activity does not require extensive training, outside consultants or experts, and costs nothing other than a few hours of your time each month. It only requires your commitment to the process and access to a small group of your contemporaries - industry folks you trust and respect who will be your sounding board. Peers who will test your assumptions, keep you and your people focused on what's important and what's possible for your business to achieve.
Business strategic development is a process that involves first and foremost the setting of goals and objectives. Unless there is specific agreement on where the owners of the business want to be in 5, 10, 20, or more years from now - any actions taken will be ineffective and a waste of time, energy, and resources.
What will the organization look like if it achieves its mission along with step by step actions required that will result in the achievement of its goals and objectives? Business strategic development will you in identifying the forces that drive change in your industry that you can potentially leverage as well as understanding the effects of your decisions and develop action plans for dealing with external forces you can not control in order to consistently move forward toward your goals.
The strategic planning component of the process thoroughly assesses the external (market) environment and makes forecasting assumptions on those assumptions. This crucial element must be ongoing as the external business, economic, regulatory, and political environment changes continually.
When the alternatives are known, through the process of risk assessment designing and executing the alternative courses of action becomes straightforward. Once you fully understand the potential risks and possible rewards you way forward becomes clear. Selecting the best course of action then while tracking and evaluating your results as helps you monitor the course of action chosen.
Business strategic development is a never-ending process every business must go through if they are to remain successful and move inexorably toward innovation and development for the future. It is about looking toward the future, typically a 2-5 year horizon and depending on the industry and its capital requirements even longer.
It is all about identifying and defining desirable future results and developing strategies and actions to reach them. It is a planning and execution process that actually gives meaning to routine day-to-day activities. Business strategic development enables organizations to determine where they intend to be and how to get there.
The ability to make decisions for the future depends on a clear knowledge of the available alternatives, a systematic assessment of the costs and benefits of each alternative is the reason why we must focus on it. If we are serious about the future of our organization we must create a consistent order among preferences, and establish clear rules for making decisions that will take us where we want to go.
Business strategic development is a process that helps every member of the organization clarify what's important to the business, and based on where it is now, the steps and decisions required to achieve what's possible. It also takes time and requires you continued attention.
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