Counting the Benefits

...a good strategy will attract many benefits besides ensuring you're more likely to reach your goals.

Whether you are managing a team, a start-up business, a local government department, a large commercial organization, or a charity, having a good strategy will attract many benefits besides ensuring you're more likely to reach your goals. It also helps you to map out your future, attract funding, and establish a team of treat people to work with.

First, a good strategy acts as a road map. it should clearly identify where you want to be at a given point in time, say, three years. For example, one of your goals may be to increase sales by a factor of ten. Your strategy should set out how you will achieve this target. Boosting sales by this amount will clearly require actions bolder than printing a new sales leaflet.

A strategy has more than the destination in mind. It enables you to map the roads and junctions along the way, so that you can plot your way and, critically, measure your progress. Three years is too long to wait to see if you made the right decisions, and you need frequent reassurance that you are on the right road.

Second, a clear strategy attracts interest and funding from third parties. This might be start-up finance for a new business, internal funding (where you have to compete with other teams for resources), or a bid for sponsorship. In every scenario, funders want to know that you are in control of the situation. They can't predict the future, so they seek reassurance from your confidence in your plan for the future. A considered strategy demonstrates that their funds will be well used and that they will receive a healthy and secure return.

ACTION POINT: Devise a strategy that has a destination and attracts interest.