STRATEGIC GROWTH PLANNING

Strategy is the first step in turning vision into commercial reality. Forming a strategy helps companies focus on what matters most by making intentional decisions regarding several foundational questions:

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• In what markets, and for which customers, are we competing?

• What unique and sustainable value are we creating for those customers?

• What assumptions are we making about our industry that limit our growth?

• How can we create and capture new demand for our products and services?

• What organizational capabilities do we need in place to succeed?

• What resources and systems are required to execute the strategy successfully?

An inspired vision and sound strategy are essential but not enough for superior business performance. It is also critical for leadership to ensure the firm's resources, and capabilities are organized in full support of its vision and strategy. And no matter how brilliant a strategy, they often face formidable organizational barriers:

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• Senior leaders are divided on the firm's future direction.

• Key players lack a sense of urgency to pivot and embrace change.

• Managers struggle to translate strategy into action.

• Internal politics and entrenched behaviors reinforce the status quo.

A company's strategic positioning cannot be static. It must adapt to changing market forces, even though the firm's long-term vision remains unchanged by periodically asking several critical questions:

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• How well is the strategy working? Does it need to be refreshed?

• Is the strategy easily translated into action? Does it need to be simplified?

• Are the assumptions underlying the strategy still relevant? Do they need to be revisited?

• Are our people, structure, and incentives optimized to achieve our objectives?
  Do they need to be reoriented or upleveled in any way?

• Are we tracking the right KPIs? So we need different KPis for a timelier and more accurate performance read?