Let us think for a moment: Is the strategy we had 6 or 12 months ago still valid? Will it take us where we want? Will our “go-to-market strategies” help us to expand our business, gain more customers or generate new revenues? Are customers’ expectations, requirements, or needs still the same? Are our customers satisfied with the products, services, and experience we deliver? Do they recommend us to others? Are they looking for new alternatives? Is our business model still viable? Do we have the right operations, technology, and culture to remain competitive and be profitable? Do our people have the needed skills and capabilities for today’s business environment, or do they need to develop and learn new things? Are we making the amount of money we would like?
Although many things to think about, without a doubt; the answers to those questions, the way we address them, and the actions we define will determine our future and the future of our company.
Some may think the right strategic framework is not adequate or that a new one is required. No, we already have plenty of those. Rather, we need to address the real problems.
Think about how to stack up against your competitors, your competitive advantage, and how to compete through disruption; recognizing that it is always relative and never permanent.
Assess how much you understand the variables that define your onstage advantage; like industry dynamics, how you manage complementors, how deep is your alignment with customers, and how much you are focusing on the entire purchase-and-consumption cycle or customer journey. This will define your revenue streams and how much revenue you can generate.
But nevertheless, is also important to assess your backstage advantage, which gets strengthened when you accomplish a superior value-chain, a high-level relationship with customers, when you decide to compete through innovation and when you are smart at scaling and scoping your advantages.
Now it is time to set your course of action, execute, succeed and thrive.
“Strategy without leadership goes nowhere; leadership without strategy has nowhere to go”.
C. L. Harshman, executive coach
