What is strategy - exactly?

The word strategy is used commonly, but frequently with disabling variation in understandings of its' role and purpose.
A common understanding of strategy's purpose will unify collaboration efforts and enhance strategy effectiveness.

Strategy definition

A Business strategy is
- an integrated set of mutually supportive strategic choices made, tweaked and adjusted to position your business on a playing field of your design in a way that it wins (or excels in serving your target market),
- implemented with a coherent and feasible action plan to overcome the obstacles that stand between where you are and what you want to achieve.

Roger. L. Martin and Richard Rumelt

Supporting definitions

Strategic choices

A set of choices that every business leader and team should have clear answers to have a strategy to excel. This includes:

  1. Why the business needs to exist (Aspirations)

  2. Where or what environment the business operates in to fulfill its's aspirations

  3. How the business intends to Win or Excel i.e. serve those in its' environment better than others.

  4. The capabilities (strengths) and resources necessary to excel or win.

  5. How the business will execute and sustain its' strategy and advantage including management practices, policies, processes and systems along with barriers to imitation.

Review Strategic choices
Playing field

A set of sub-choices that define the attributes of the business environment(s) where the business perceives it can most likely deliver value and win with customers. Includes deciding upon and communicating

  1. What industry segment the business serves in e.g. the industry niche or niches e.g. Rather than sportsware it might be Womens' premium priced sportswear or Mens branded sportswear. As the sportswear industry can be partitioned by price, type of garments or products, distribution mechanims, channels used, demographics or geography served etc. So the Industry segments can be specific.

  2. The customer needs focused upon along with the jobs to be done that satisfy those needs.

  3. Customer segments focussed upon who have those needs.

  4. Opportunities that exist in response to changing economic, political, social or technological changes.

  5. Threats that exist in response to changing economic, political, social or technological changes.

  6. Relative price the business serves at e.g. Premium priced, Differentiated price, Mass market, Budget.

Where to play
Winning

Serving your target market and customers in ways that offers superior value to those customers, unavailable from others. This may include:

  1. Good enough to meet needs at a more competitive price.

  2. Superior satisfaction of needs through better products, more diverse range or options, better service.

  3. Satisfaction of needs not met by other players. Needs may include functional, emotional or social needs.

  4. Greater convenience or accessibility of your solutions.

  5. Greater trust in your business or brand.

  6. Your unique blend of reasons why your target market chooses to buy from you.

Where to play

Your strategy challenge

Ensure your strategy team and organization have shared understanding of what strategy is and its' role in / contribution to the business.

  1. Case Studies

    Discuss real-world examples of companies that successfully applied the defined strategy. This can help team member relate the shared understandings to practical situations.

  2. Interactive Discussion

    Encourage participants to share their own understanding and experiences with strategy. This can help uncover and address any existing misconceptions or differing viewpoints.

  3. Scenario-Based Exercises

    Present hypothetical scenarios and ask learners to apply the strategy definition to formulate a strategy for each scenario. This helps reinforce their understanding.

  4. Q&A and Group Discussion

    Allow participants to ask questions or engage in group discussions to clarify any doubts, uncertainties or differences of opinion.

  5. Assessment

    Create a simple quiz at the end of sessions to ensure participants have a unified understanding.

  6. Record your shared understanding

    From the StrategyCAD™ side menu Why and How - Purpose - Record your strategy definition in your StrategyCAD™ account to act as the accessible guiding purpose of strategy practice for your business, and orient new team members as they participate in your business strategy.

References

Playing to win book cover

Playing to Win: How Strategy Really Works, 2013, A.G. Lafely and Roger L. Martin

Book cover

Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters, 2011, Richard Rumelt

Book cover

Strategic Management: Concepts and Cases 3rd Edition, 2016, Jeff Dyer, Paul C. Godfrey, Robert J. Jensen, David J. Bryce

BYU

Understanding the four key questions that drive business strategy and help a company determine how to succeed in a particular industry or competitive marketplace, Brigham Young University