The importance of strategy and alignment across the business

Where are you now, where do you want to be and how are you going to get there?

Every business needs a strategy – it is essential for growth and sustainability. Without a well-defined strategy, the path to achieving goals is not clearly defined and the business will lack direction, alignment and efficiency.

An effective business strategy is a documented plan on how the business is going to achieve its goals. It should clearly identify the direction your business is headed and create cohesion within the business to achieve these goals.

When developing a business strategy, engage key people within the business and reflect on where you want your business to be in 12 months, five years and 10 years time. The business strategy should outline why you want to achieve these goals and how you are going to get there.

The main objectives of having a business strategy include:

• Alignment across the business – Are all people within your business working towards the same goals? A business strategy will help shape direction and provide clarity within your business. It is important that people in your business understand where the business is going and how they can contribute to achieving the business’ goals.
• Creates a measure for success – A business strategy allows you to measure the success of your business against key strategic milestones. Are you seeing the results you hoped to achieve? If not, why? A business strategy enables the business time to understand how they are performing against competitors and allows the business to better identify the areas for improvement.
• Increases adaptability – It is important for a business to examine the broader changes in the market such as technology, consumer and political changes. How responsive is your business to change? A business will not continue to grow and succeed without understanding current issues and trends in the market. A business strategy helps to identify future risks and develop ways to overcome them. It also enables a business to assess its competitive advantage and identify new trends in the market
• Facilitates decision making – Do you know where your efforts are best spent? Developing a business strategy is not about doing more work. A business strategy will facilitate decision making within your business so you’re focusing your time and efforts on achieving your goals and getting to where you want to go.

It is important to understand that not all businesses get it right straight away. It is critical to continuously assess progress and realign your business strategy, so your business stays relevant to the future. You should revisit the business strategy at least annually.

Developing a business strategy can be a waste of money and time if we fail to implement. If you want to achieve your goals and succeed in business, the business strategy should be at the top of your priority list and ‘time poor’ should not be an excuse. You should also share your business strategy with someone who will hold you accountable and ensure you stay on track.

PKF is regularly engaged to facilitate and establish strategic plans for businesses with clear milestones and assigned responsibilities to help drive success. If you would like any assistance, please get in touch today.