Make your strategy development process a robust process with this essential checklist.
A business strategy review can deliver big benefits to your business.
There are the direct financial benefits that come from improving performance and targeting new
growth opportunities.
But the process can also improve alignment within the business. Between employees,
senior management teams and other key stakeholders.
This can help to drive a high performance culture. It can also help clarify the future direction of the business.
However, developing a business strategy is complex. It can be hard to know where to start. Furthermore, there are so many competing frameworks and approaches out there.
We have therefore compiled this business strategy checklist of areas to consider when developing business strategy. We use this checklist ourselves when working with clients.
As a result, we ensure our strategies are robust and comprehensive.
Business strategy cannot be developed in isolation of the broader market.
This section of the strategy provides the supporting context into the market. This is likely for instance to include the growth outlook, segmentation of the market, and any relevant key trends or developments. Especially those that impact on your position in the market.
Understanding your own strategic positioning is a critical part of strategy development.
This includes insights into how you add value to customers. In addition, you should include the key resources and advantages you have that influence your market position.
This ensures that your resulting strategy builds on your current strengths. Moreover, it should address any areas where you currently face challenges.
The internal context takes into account the way you are organised, your culture, the way you go about things.
Without this understanding, you could end up with a strategy which is fine on paper, but not realistic for your business.
The purpose of business strategy is to maximise the value of the business.
A clear understanding of the key drivers of value is therefore fundamental to business strategy.
This allows potential alternate strategic options to be assessed according to their expected impact on long-term value creation.
As we have seen, your business strategy should be based on an analysis of:
You should work through each section of this business strategy checklist systematically. This will ensure that you have supporting context for your own strategy.
With this context, you can identify the key areas of opportunity for your business. And also the things you need to watch up for or address.
You will end up with a strategy that is realistic, tailored completely to your own business context, and underpinned by careful financial analysis.
Learn the techniques that top-tier strategy consultants use to complete rapid strategic reviews
