Strategy Formulation - Know Your End Results

Strategy Formulation - Know Your End Results 

The process of strategic planning, is not that difficult so long as you have the right people coming together, to achieve the same objective, with the mission as the basis for the appropriate questioning by the facilitator. 

The results of applying the process of strategy formulation are:

• A clear statement of strategy that can be easily retained
• A shared understanding and commitment among top managers to this common direction
• A vehicle for communicating strategy throughout the organisation
• An approach to implementing and managing the strategy
• A basis for simplifying and managing long-range an short-range planning
• An understanding of the strategy process that can be re-applied

Sometimes, few strategic misconceptions get in the way.

The obvious one is: "Return/Profit must be our Driving Force. That's why we're in business."  

Profit is essential, no doubt. Profit is also a key indicator of success by which organisations measure their effectiveness. But it may not necessarily be your Driving Force.  

3M has long been known for its excellence in management and high profit earnings. But Return/Profit is not it's Driving Force; Innovation and Products Offered is. 

Coca-Cola is known for its worldwide marketing capability, but this is not its Driving Force; Products Offered is.

Gillette has been very successful and continues to make generous profits and generate substantial revenues. But its Driving Force is its Markets Served. 

New strategy brings with it, the thrust for future business development, such as taking your current products (or services offered if you are a PKF - Professional Knowledge Firm) in your current markets and injecting them into Extended Markets and even New Markets.

Review the current markets that you are serving and introduce modifications of your existing products and completely new products.

This is what will then drive the Return/Profit for your organization 

Are you prepared to succeed? 

If your voice mail greeting is longer than 20 seconds, or offers more than two menu choices, you may confuse yourself with multiple choices. Keep it simple. 

There's rarely a legitimate reason not to return a phone call in 24 hours or an email within 48 hours. You can have an automatic email notice if you are away for prolonged periods, but a laptop is not a luxury, it's a business necessity. 

Refuse to panic. Because a prospective client has not gotten back to you does not mean that you should contact them with a reduced fee, a cheaper alternative, or an offer to check the oil and tyres. Retain your dignity and be willing to walk away from work. Rejection isn't personal. They reflect those buyers who were too dumb to appreciate your value. Don't belittle yourself. Find smarter clients. 

If you're not efficient with words while working, the chances are you're not efficient with prospective buyers either.  

Move a few things forward a mile rather than a thousand things forward an inch. We all have limited time and energy ... and attention spans. Prioritise your top projects and drive them forward relentlessly. It's about success not perfection. 

Have you fulfilled your Mission? 

How many times have you heard: "We tried that 10 years ago and it didn't work"? 

But you know that if they applied your advice in the way you propose that it would work because it works for your other clients. But this prospective buyer's mindset is holding them back because:

• It's a strongly held belief in their mind
• It really feels true to them
• There is an attachment to that belief because they identify with it
• And, disagreeing with them frequently triggers negativity and even animosity
• Their mindset correlates with both actions and avoidance

When some of the clients are suggested to increase their fees, we get the same responses:

• "We can't raise our rates in this economy."
• "We prefer to be mid-stream with our competitors on rates."
• "If we raise our fees we will lose business to our competitors."

Mindsets (not circumstances) shape performance and results. Everything you experience is based upon your mindset. Thoughts, opinions, attitudes, innovation, the lot.  

Do you have a restrictive mindset or an expansive mindset?

An expansive mindset sees new possibilities and opportunities. An expansive mindset is not defensive but curious, interested in how to make things happen. Better performance and results come from an expansive mindset.