Preparing for the new business as usual – the strategic review
As business starts to rebuild post lock down, the strategic review is key to shaping the business for the future.
As directors we are responsible for the vision, purpose and strategy of our organisation. Hence, we need to consider and reflect upon what is the purpose of the business and what are our plan (the strategy) and process (the Business plan) to deliver this. We can no longer make assumptions that what worked previously will work going forwards, and it is incumbent on the board of a responsible organisation to take stock, ask honest questions and give honest answers.
A strategic review is not as scary as it sounds but essentially a strategic planning process.
Formulating a business strategy inevitably differs from company to company. This is because of the different types of businesses, their structures, leadership styles, histories, industries, and product life cycles, to name but the main ones. The effectiveness is also likely to differ from company to company.
Strategy formulation should not be the sole preserve of the Chief Executive and his or her team, nor should it be left to the Strategic Planning Department. Executives can lose touch with the real issues as markets and industries continue to become increasingly complex and turbulent and this can lead to faulty and incorrect assumptions. The involvement of as many personnel, irrespective of rank and seniority, is welcomed. Furthermore, organisations should seek more and more contributions from stakeholders such as customers and distributors as they also have an important contribution to make.
Any strategic process should contain the following:
- Identification of the need to review strategy – event/crisis or continuous review
- Strategy review
- Organisational philosophy
- Environmental and industry analysis
- Internal appraisal of company
- Competitive analysis
- Strategy selection
- Identifying strategic alternatives
- Strategy evaluation and selection
- Business plan
- Matching strategy and organisational structure
- Allocation of resources and responsibilities
- Review and feedback
- Results and reviews
David Joel, in his role as President of the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, provides additional useful information at https://www.hampshirechamber.co.uk/events-and-news/events/coronavirus/.