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Exercise 1: Discover the strategic objectives for the team/organisation

Listen here (or read below)

 

 

If you want to position yourself better in your current situation and be a more strategic contributor, then start with understanding the strategy of the business.  Going through this research can be most revealing for you, your leadership and your team.

NB This is a very simplified approach to eliciting the strategy in order for you to be able to have some idea of what it might be in the absence of any clarity.

Start your research by making some notes on the top 10 questions to understand your organisation’s strategy. 

  1. What are the stated purpose, vision and values of the business?
  2. Where is the business positioned in the market(s) it serves?
  3. What are the financial ambitions – growth or profitability? Or if a Not-For-Profit, what are the organisation’s ambitions/desired outcomes?
  4. What are the major customer groups?
  5. How does the business create differentiating value for each customer group? What is the differentiating value proposition e.g. lowest cost, best service, most innovative product?
  6. What does the business need to excel at to deliver value and excellence in its operations to maximise productivity?
  7. What does the business need to excel at to deliver on its customer relationships strategy and drive growth?
  8. What are the long-term objectives for growth and innovation?
  9. What organisation and leadership capabilities will need to be acquired/developed/strengthened to enable it to achieve the objectives identified above?
  10. How does the culture enable the business ambitions?

Having answered these questions, consider how the answers might translate into strategic objectives.  Then consider how to align your own performance objectives and targets to make a more strategic contribution and advance the success of the organisation. As you create more value for the business, you increase your value and hopefully gain more fulfilment and personal value from it.

Note: If you are interested in conducting a full strategy mapping exercise for your organisation, please contact kit.jackson@strategytogether.com