Partner Article

Do you know your strategy from your objectives from your tactics?

All businesses need a strategy but what does this actually mean and does everyone understand it? It has to be one of the most overused yet misunderstood words in business.

The word is tossed around in boardrooms and customer meetings with reckless abandon. I bet that in a room of ten executives, very few would have the same take on the question ‘Define your firm’s long term strategy’. If they can’t articulate it, then what sort of mixed messages are staff and customers receiving?

Recent statistics also seem to back this up, a survey found that out of 3,500 global leaders, 54% of respondents didn’t believe their company’s strategy would lead to success and, 53% couldn’t say whether their employees understood the strategy.

Part of the confusion is down to not knowing the difference between objectives, strategy and tactics.

Deciding to go global, to diversify, or to increase sales by xx dollars per year isn’t strategy. These aspirations are objectives. Articulating HOW to become the biggest and the best is the strategy. The tactics are the mechanics you put in place to achieve the strategy.

The problem is that Senior Management teams do not understand the differences and, all too often, short term action points are mistaken for strategy.

It can often be the case that strategy can be perceived as slowing business down, not true. If we look at Starbucks as a good example, it took only three decades to grow from the Pacific Northwest to 21,000 stores worldwide. It was Howard Schulz’s strategic vision to grow a social community with an easily identifiable culture which has made it the success it is today.

For businesses to grow and develop, strategy needs to be understood and communicated; it is a long term process, which provides a company with hope, direction and purpose. By developing a clear strategy you also present yourself with the opportunity to build clear brand differentiation in the market – which is vital for long term success. When objectives, strategy and tactics are all aligned, everything is clearer and falls into place.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Daniel O Mahoney .