The Strategist's Playbook: Turning Vision into Reality

This roadmap integrates Strategic Analysis, Mission & Vision, Strategic Change Agenda, the OAS Statement, the Strategy Map Framework, and the Strategy Direction Statement. It provides startups and strategists with a comprehensive, actionable guide for developing and continuously refining their strategy.

1. Strategic Analysis & Market Research (First Step)

The first step in strategy formulation is conducting Strategic Analysis & Market Research, which provides the foundation for the entire process. It involves a thorough assessment of the internal and external environments:

• Why it comes first: Understanding market trends, customer needs, competitors, and internal capabilities helps you identify critical strategic issues and opportunities.
• Key Tools: SWOT Analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) PESTLE Analysis (Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, Environmental) Competitor Benchmarking Customer Research

Outcome: This analysis uncovers the strategic issues that will be addressed in the next stages.

2. Define Mission, Vision, and Core Values

After strategic analysis, you can refine or define the company’s Mission, Vision, and Core Values:

• Mission: This describes the core purpose of the business—why it exists.
• Vision: The long-term aspiration or ideal state the company aims to achieve.
• Core Values: The guiding principles and beliefs that influence decision-making and behavior within the organization.

3. Strategic Change Agenda

Once you have a clear Mission, Vision, and Core Values, the next step is to create a Strategic Change Agenda. This agenda prioritizes the key strategic issues identified in the strategic analysis that need to be addressed to achieve your mission and vision.

• What it is: A prioritized list of strategic issues that require significant attention or change.
• Why it’s important: It helps focus the organization on the most important areas that will drive growth and success.

Example:

• Strategic Change Issue: "Customer satisfaction has been declining due to slow response times in support."

4. Strategy Direction Statement (Derived from Strategic Change Agenda)

For each strategic issue identified in the Strategic Change Agenda, develop a Strategy Direction Statement. This statement is a vision-like articulation that provides clear direction for addressing the issue.

• What it is: A focused statement that explains how the company will address the strategic issue.
• Why it’s important: It offers clarity and sets the course of action for overcoming challenges or seizing opportunities.

Example (from the Strategic Change Agenda):

• Strategic Change Issue: "Customer satisfaction is declining due to slow response times."
• Strategy Direction Statement: "We will enhance customer satisfaction by improving support response times and providing 24/7 availability across all digital channels."

5. OAS Statement (Objectives, Advantages, Scope)

After creating the Strategy Direction Statement, summarize the strategic direction using an OAS Statement, which defines the Objectives, Advantages, and Scope of the strategy.

• Objectives: What specific goals are you aiming to achieve?
• Advantages: What competitive advantages will help the company achieve its goals?
• Scope: What markets, customer segments, or regions will the company focus on?

The OAS Statement brings clarity by outlining what you want to achieve, how you’ll achieve it, and where you’ll focus.

6. Strategy Map Framework (Align Objectives with Core Perspectives)

Next, build a Strategy Map to visually connect the Strategic Objectives across the four perspectives of the Balanced Scorecard (BSC):

1. Financial Perspective: How will we create value for shareholders?
2. Customer Perspective: How will we deliver value to our customers?
3. Internal Process Perspective: What processes must we excel at?
4. Learning & Growth Perspective: How will we sustain innovation and growth?

Strategic Frameworks for Organizational Needs:

Depending on the organization’s specific challenges and needs, different strategic frameworks can be applied to shape the Strategy Map:

• Capital Utilization: Use Value-Based Management (VBM) or Balanced Scorecard Financial Perspective to focus on capital efficiency.
• Market Positioning: Apply Positioning Framework or Blue Ocean Strategy to capture new markets or differentiate the brand.
• Business Process: Leverage the Resource-Based View (RBV) to enhance unique competencies, such as operational efficiency or innovation.
• Learning & Growth: Use Learning Organization Models or ADKAR (Change Management) to build a culture of continuous improvement.

Example (Customer Perspective):

• Strategic Objective: Improve customer retention by 10%.
• Do-Well: Provide 24/7 personalized customer support.
• Initiative: Launch an AI-based live chat support system within 6 months.

7. Set Strategic Objectives and Identify Do-Wells

Once you’ve created the Strategy Direction Statement, break it down into Strategic Objectives and Do-Wells:

• Strategic Objectives: These are specific, measurable goals that align with the Strategy Map and provide clear targets.
• Do-Wells: The critical activities or competencies that must be mastered to achieve the strategic objectives.

Where Strategic Objectives and Do-Wells are Derived From:

• Strategic Change Agenda: Defines what needs to change.
• Strategy Direction Statement: Provides clear direction on how to address each strategic issue.
• OAS Statement: Breaks down organizational-level goals into actionable objectives.
• Strategy Map: Ensures that all objectives are aligned across different business perspectives (financial, customer, internal processes, learning & growth).

8. Define Measures and Set Targets

Once the Strategic Objectives and Do-Wells are established, define the measures to track progress:

• Outcome Measures: What results are you trying to achieve?
• Driver Measures: What activities will help drive these outcomes?
• Set Targets: Define specific, measurable targets for each measure.

9. Develop Strategic Initiatives

Next, develop initiatives (projects) that will help you execute the Do-Wells and achieve the Strategic Objectives:

• What it is: Specific, time-bound projects or programs designed to deliver on the do-wells and objectives. Example: Implement a new customer service software platform and train staff on using it within 3 months.

10. Allocate Resources (Human, Financial, Tech)

Ensure that the necessary resources are allocated to support the Strategic Initiatives:

• Human Resources: Do you have the right team in place?
• Financial Resources: What budget will you allocate for each initiative?
• Technological Resources: What tools, platforms, or systems are required?

11. Monitor, Adjust, and Realign (Ongoing Feedback Loop)

Finally, ensure a continuous feedback loop to monitor progress, adjust strategies, and realign based on results:

• Monitor: Track progress using the measures and targets you defined.
• Adjust: Make necessary adjustments to your objectives, do-wells, and initiatives based on performance.
• Realign: Periodically review and update your Strategy Direction Statement, Strategic Objectives, and Strategy Map to stay aligned with market changes and internal progress.

• 💡 React to support
• 💬 Comment with your views
• ♻️ Please also share this post to help others
• ➕ Follow me, Adel Eljohani💡 for more strategy
• 🙏 P.S. If you enjoy my content or just appreciate the effort, please kindly spare a second to support it in addition to following me.
• 📧 Feel free to contact me directly if you need more support or help with your business strategy.

#BusinessStrategy #StartupGrowth #StrategicPlanning #StrategyExecution #BalancedScorecard #StrategyMap #OASStatement #StrategicObjectives #DoWells #StrategyDevelopment #MarketResearch #MissionVisionValues #StrategicChangeAgenda #ContinuousImprovement #Leadership #Innovation #Entrepreneurship #GrowthMindset #CustomerExperience #ResourceAllocation #KPIs #LongTermSuccess #BusinessGrowth