Linking Strategy to the Market

A good manager always finds time to reflect upon where the business is going

Strategy has two dimensions: what is happening inside your organization and what is happening outside, in the market. You must understand and analyze both if you are to devise a successful strategy.

Most people in an organization are constantly busy working to the next deadline. However, being driven by short-term goals should not preclude thinking about the future. A good manager always finds time to reflect upon where the business is going and whether its strategy remains valid.

Business is time precious. If you don't dispatch the order by Thursday, you'll lose the contract; if you don't complete your invoicing by the end of the quarter, you'll answer to your boss. A series of deadlines can stretch out far into the future, and it's all to easy to get mired in day-to-day delivery.

But looking beyond the "now" will help you avoid future troubles that may affect your business and will enable you to spot opportunities to achieve more sales, develop new services, and pre-empt your competitors' activities to gain first-mover advantage. The attentive organization or team will soon gain advantage over the competition. For example, say you are a car manufacturer and you know that it takes five years to develop a new car design. if you receive early signals that taxation on large-engined cars will increase in five years, you can begin to develop smaller engines for your cars well before your competitors. your product will emerge earlier than theirs and gain a strong foothold in a new market.

ACTION POINT: Understand and analyze what is happening inside and outside of your organization.