The Challenges of Strategy – How well do you Develop, Communicate and Implement your Company’s Strategy?

Understanding Strategy in Business

When business leaders are asked to define strategy, the answers can vary widely. Many equate strategy with a plan, often resulting in multiple strategic plans across different departments without a cohesive overview of the organization’s goals.

This fragmented approach, especially in entities like local governments, can lead to siloed thinking. For instance, separate plans for housing, street management, and HR might lack alignment, leading to inefficient resource allocation.

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Consider a scenario where road repairs exceed projections, requiring additional manpower and budget. How would this impact the resources allocated to the housing division? Without clear priorities, decision-making becomes challenging.

The Importance of Objective Decision-Making

Decisions should not solely rely on subjective views of directors or senior managers. Instead, objective criteria should guide choices to achieve optimal organizational outcomes. In the Harvard Business Review article “Before You Make That Big Decision” (June 2011), Kahneman, Lovallo, and Sibony discuss how unconscious biases affect decision-making. Kahneman, a Nobel laureate, demonstrated that objective approaches yield better results.

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Strategy and Decision-Making

Strategic decision-making involves defining the organization’s Purpose or Mission, Vision and Objectives, Values, and strategies. These elements are essential for all levels of the organization, yet they often remain confined to senior management discussions. How frequently are these concepts integrated into daily business operations?

A classic example is the story of a NASA visitor who asked a janitor about his job. The janitor replied, “I helped to put a man on the moon,” illustrating the importance of aligning every employee’s work with the organization’s overarching goals.

Developing and Communicating Strategy

Having a strategy is only the beginning. It must be communicated across the organization to empower employees to contribute effectively.

Developing robust strategies involves considering both external factors, as outlined by experts like Michael Porter, and internal capabilities, as emphasized by Hamel & Prahalad’s competency-based approach. McKinsey’s 7S model further highlights the balance needed between internal and external elements, as well as short-, medium-, and long-term objectives.

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Our programs are designed to equip managers with the tools they need to develop, communicate, and implement successful strategies that align with their organization’s goals.