Is Your Strategy Relevant

For the past 8 months, a laser like focus on the short-term has allowed companies to weather the effects of an uncertain business environment. But the long-term viability of an organization is dependent on its ability to anticipate when to change its strategy in order to assure its relevance in the marketplace is sustained. Uncertainty will be a constant as the pandemic continues to impact the economic recovery and the way business models work, heightening the need for organizations to be able to successfully adapt their strategy to a volatile external environment.

Failing to understand and adapt to the changes of the external environment can have disastrous effects. In order to be in a position to anticipate the need to change an organization’s strategy, leaders need to look beyond lag measures like revenue, basic market share, and customer satisfaction, which monitor the direct impact of the organization’s efforts.

As we have now come through the initial shock from the pandemic and the devastating impact of the economic shutdown, testing the relevance of your long-term strategy has never been more important. Surely, the importance of monitoring and measuring the organization’s internal strengths and weaknesses goes without saying. However, in times like these, the impact of the external environment on your business needs to be an essential part of the strategic planning equation.

Unfortunately, in many middle market businesses, the external environmental analysis is lacking. To be able to anticipate the kind of strategy adjustment you require to remain relevant, it is critical to monitor and test external assumptions (political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and regulatory) on a planned annual schedule. By scrutinizing these interrelated external environmental assumptions on a regular basis, it provides the opportunity to uncover new winning strategies ensuring ongoing marketplace relevance.

During these uncertain times, as we navigate our way through the pandemic and manage the government’s measured opening of our economy, we find that in many cases leaders are not monitoring their external environment to keep their strategy relevant. What is needed is for leaders to develop an organizational capability to effectively monitor, evaluate and adjust strategy based on current and future external environmental moves.

Is your strategy process capable of anticipating and adapting to emerging external environment changes? Are external forces challenging your marketplace relevance? We would like to hear from you. Please share this blog with your friends and associates as you see fit.

Quote

“Resistance to Change is often just a lack of clarity. Ambiguity is the enemy of change.” Dan Heath, co-author of Switch: How to Change When Change is Hard.

Dick Albu is the founder and president of Albu consulting LLC, a strategy management consulting firm focused on engaging and energizing leadership teams of middle market private and family businesses. With offices in Stamford, CT, the firm is dedicated to helping its clients formulate robust business strategies and follow through on execution of key strategic initiatives. Dick Albu can be reached at 203-321-2147 or RAlbu@albuconsulting.com. Rob Krist, Managing Director can be reached at RKrist@albuconsulting.com. Please visit Albu Consulting’s website for more information at www.albuconsulting.com.