A strategy is a plan designed to achieve a long-term aim, including …
- Purpose and vision
- Long term objectives and goals
- Key initiatives and projects
- Action plans and timing
- Paths to clarity
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Strategy is about…
- Shaping the future
- Gaining an edge
- Making choices about where to go, what to be and how to get there
- Setting yourself apart and standing out
- Resource allocation
- Doing the right things
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The rewards of strategy
- Creates a tangible plan to achieve your purpose and vision.
- Sets a clear direction.
- Opens possibility.
- Combined with purpose and vision, motivates and energises.
- Provides perspective.
- Aids innovation and leveraging of technology.
- Ensures all actions are aligned and co-ordinated.
- Essential component of effective leadership.
- Essential for success in a rapidly changing world.
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The qualities of a great strategy
- Starts with having a clear sense of purpose
- Is built around a clear vision for the future
- Is built around clearly defined values and principles
- Is based on clear objectives and long-term goals
- Focuses on customer value and satisfaction
- Is forward looking
- Begins with the end in mind
- Balances the short term with the long term
- Considers different scenarios and plans accordingly
- Leverages strengths and core competencies
- Leverages people and their talents
- Has its roots in the real world
- Is focused on results
- Often thinks big and starts small
- Identifies obstacles and provides a plan to overcome them
- Learns from failure
- Adjusts and adapts itself according to lessons learned and changing circumstances
- Stays focused
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Strategy requires…
- Doing an audit of where you are (especially your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
- Knowing yourself and your competition
- Understanding your offering, what customers value it for, and what makes it stand apart
- Knowing and understanding the customer and their needs
- Careful thought and deliberation
- Intuition
- Knowledge and research
- Intelligence
- Integrity and trust
- Experimenting and questioning
- Creativity
- Story telling
- Buy in from all those involved in implementation
- Taking culture into account
- Identifying risks and creating contingency plans
- Clear measures for tracking progress
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Combine strategy with…
- Communication
- Hard work
- Streamlined processes
- Excellent logistics
- Effective marketing
- Constant learning
- Effective implementation
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Strategy must be combined with action
- Without effective execution, strategy is pointless.
- Tactics are actions aligned with a strategy.
- Effective tactics are essential to turn strategy into reality.
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Create a strategy for your life
- An extraordinary life requires a great strategy.
- You plan your vacation, why not your life?
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A great life strategy…
- Starts by defining what success means to you.
- Is built on a clear sense of purpose and a vision for the future.
- Asks big questions.
- Focuses on finding ways to add value to the world.
- Is about focus.
- Is about managing your resources.
- Is about being who you are and forging your own path.
- Leverages what you already have and are.
- Concerns itself with how you allocate and invest time and energy, allocating time and energy to what truly matters; to what brings long term well-being.
- Concerns itself with execution.
- Leads to tangible actions and real impacts.
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Key questions
- What is the time frame for the strategy: 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, 10 year?
- Where am I now?
- How did I get to where I am today?
- Where do I want to go to from here (taking my purpose and vision into account)?
- How do I get from where I am today to where I want to be in the future?
- What obstacles will I have to overcome?
- How can I break my vision and purpose into specific and measurable goals?
- What are key initiatives I can implement in each area of my life to move towards my goals and maximise well-being for myself and loved ones?
- All strategy questions
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In slides
