The term "strategy" has a variety of different meanings. "Strategic" can be used as a synonym for "important" or "sensible". You can have a "marketing strategy", a "recruitment strategy", a "succession strategy" a "success strategy"; a strategy for installing the new computer system or a strategy for getting the staff to reduce their number of sick days.
None of that is what I am talking about when I refer to Strategy (with a capital S). When I refer to Strategy I mean "Competitive Strategy", and it has a very specific meaning.
Competitive Strategy is "the choice of how and where to compete". It's like a recipe for how you plan to achieve competitive advantage.
The three components of a Competitive Strategy are:
1. The market in which you choose to compete
2. The way in which you intend to differentiate your offerings from those of your competitors, and
3. The identification of the strategic assets which you possess and which support the approach you have chosen.
How often does your organization analyse or review these matters? Does the discussion lead to a genuine exploration or is it a perfunctory "covering-off" of these points? The questions required to formulate an original strategy are the "dumb questions" that are often avoided, because the answers can appear obvious and no one wants to look stupid. They can't be answered comprehensively in one afternoon. Many people are impatient with such discussions and gloss over the issues, fast-forwarding to the action items.
Your Competitive Strategy is the compass which should guide all your other business decisions and activities.
Your "big S" Strategy is what makes your business unique. Can you afford not to have one?
