As one year ends and another begins, leaders have a single pressing question on their minds: What should strategy look like for the next 12 months?
Many leaders believe they need to start with a blank slate and set a strategy that signals a shift. Others believe a few calculated tweaks are the right way to move forward.
While in certain cases you should reinvent the proverbial wheel, sometimes the most successful strategies are simply an improvement on the current model. So, how do you figure out if you need to refine what’s already in place or break the mold?
Here are four tips for making the choice between a strategy tune up and overhaul:
Evaluate Carefully
Today’s environment is competitive, dynamic and complex. Asking why change is needed, what circumstances exist, what is the associated risk and potential will help illuminate the best path forward. The answers to these questions will also guide resource allocation and areas for investment.
Listen to Customers
It’s important to listen to what your customers want and need. Doing so often leads to tweaking strategy over a radical turn — unless you discover your organization is far from hitting the mark. Whatever the outcome, though, grounding strategy in market need will improve your organization's chances of remaining relevant and achieving financial success.
Learn from Others
Many of the processes and services your organization needs to be successful have already been tried and improved on by others. Learn from their experiences to save time, money and effort!
Slow Down to Go Fast
A growing organization must have repeatable, scalable processes and systems to achieve efficiencies and effectiveness. Only after these are place is it wise take on new initiatives and directions. If your organization is lacking a strong operational foundation, a strategy tune up is likely your best bet.
