Strategy Development

From time to time I have been asked why a strategy is needed. Isn't that just a waste of time? Can you really shape a business through a strategy?

First of all, when you start a strategy process, you have to know one thing, and that is that you will probably never reveal it.

Conversely, if you do not have goals, like ambitious goals, and if you do not have strategies to achieve them, then you do not move forward.

When having a strategy, you can communicate it and translate it into action, something happens.

The people in the company start working together, customers can distinguish the company from competitors and last but not least, investors also start to have confidence. This of course presupposes delivering on what the strategy is all about

The last essential feature of a strategy is the ability to prioritise. The essential opt-ins and opt-outs are guided by the strategy.

So yes, it is important to have a strategy that:

• provides direction and speed – and preferably ambitious
• can be adjusted to changes in the specific assumptions of the outside world
• can be communicated internally as well as externally
• can be implemented and provide a framework for prioritisation
• targets all stakeholders and the ability to balance different considerations.

It is with this approach that I contribute to strategy development. Of course, only in companies or NGOs that are not in competition with the companies or organisations where I'm a board member.