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January 2023

Evaluating and Executing Your Business Strategy

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

Strategy evaluation is an essential step in the process of formulating and executing a strategy. It enables you to stop and evaluate the strategy alongside the company’s other day-to-day activities while executing said strategy.

Stopping to evaluate your strategy as you go is often overlooked, and where strategy execution is at risk of falling apart. Strategies can quickly become outdated when this occurs.

What is Strategy Evaluation?  

The process of analysing a strategy to assess how well it’s been implemented and executed is called “strategy evaluation.” This should be used when making decisions about your organisation’s strategy.

You can never be too careful when it comes to your company’s success. You should evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy on an annual or biannual basis at the very least – if not more frequently – say quarterly or even monthly! Even though you may think that things are going smoothly, they might have changed drastically in just one short year, so don’t let yourself get comfortable with what works for now; stay vigilant and always strive towards progress instead.

If you feel your current strategy is dead now and needs a fresh start, you’ll want to perform a thorough strategy evaluation of what went wrong the last time around before starting a new one, so you can avoid it derailing again in the future.

Strategy design

Implementing an Evaluation Process      

Implementing an evaluation process can be as simple as defining questions to answer upon each review. They could look something like this:

  • What objectives have we completed?
  • Are our KPIs supporting achieving the objectives effectively? Can they be improved or changed to better align with objectives?
  • Have we missed the mark anywhere? What do we need to improve to avoid this in future?
  • What did we do well?
  • What actions do we need to take to correct anything we haven’t performed well on?
  • Are our team displaying our values well? Have we fallen short anywhere? What can we do to improve?
Evaluating objectives

Following Through

Evaluation is one thing, but without action to correct any gaps identified, the exercise is entirely pointless. To ensure any evaluation is effective, you must determine why things didn’t go to plan correctly and then put in plan a place to remedy this. Add these to your action plan, so it is updated to reflect your findings along the way.

Evaluating and Executing Your Business Strategy Read More »

How to Choose the Right Business Values

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

Company values are what keep a group of people together as they work towards a common goal. These guiding principles and beliefs help them function effectively to achieve success for themselves, their customers and all stakeholders.

Company values are an excellent way for companies to communicate the core beliefs and principles that guide their day-to-day operations. A company’s identity can be built on its own unique values, or it may choose from several already established ones, such as respectfulness towards others or generosity with both time and money when needed most; these will depend largely upon what your organisation wants specifically out of its employees so they understand where you stand in regards not only how things should go at work but also why this is important.

Using your Vision Statement to Inform your Core Values

An organisation’s core values keep it oriented in the right direction. Once you have a vision statement, you’re ready to consider the guiding principles and beliefs you’ll follow to ensure your team gets to your vision’s destination.

Team

Examples of Business Values 

Values are the building blocks of your brand. They give it its identity and can be used to create an image for yourself in society as well! Do you have a favourite retail chain? Why do they stand out from others on this scale – maybe because they always smile or perhaps because they serve you quickly. These behaviours are all likely a result of their set values.

Your brand’s values are the building blocks that give it its identity. They can be used to create an image for yourself in society and even help shape how others perceive you! Which retail chain do you enjoy going out to? Maybe because they always smile or just fast service – either way, this behaviour likely comes from their set value system.

So what are some examples of business values? Here are a few:

  • Kindness.
  • Humility.
  • We do it with a smile.
  • Fun.
  • Creativity.
  • Persistence.
  • Innovative.
Do More

How your Values Should Evolve Over Time

The values that have guided your company from the beginning are never more important than now. As you evolve, so should these guiding principles – they will sustain and guide all aspects of what it is to be a part of your organisation’s future success! Change is consistent in business, and so should your values. You can lead on tools such as employee surveys to identify precisely what core values need a refresh when it becomes apparent that a need to refresh is there. Constantly reviewing how up-to-date your values are will ensure employee engagement remains high.

How to Choose the Right Business Values Read More »

What is a Culture Strategy for Business?

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

Culture strategy offers a formal logic for the company’s goals and focuses people around them.

The company’s goals are the priority. Strategy guides activity towards these objectives, while culture expresses them through values, principles and beliefs that guide how people act and interact.

The strategy offers a formal logic for understanding what should be done; it orientates employees around its strategic points of view. Culture gives meaning to everything at your organisation by expressing them through shared group standards of how to behave and perform.

Creating a positive work environment is crucial for retaining employees. A culture strategy can help you create the employee experience your company craves by aligning people with priorities, strategy, vision and purpose, so they feel valued every day of their career! And importantly also, have everyone aligned on the company strategy.

Defining your Culture      

Company culture is a delicate balance between control and freedom. Too much of one or the other can have negative consequences for your company, but when you find that happy medium, it’s incredible what kind of success and culture you can enjoy. If we define our company culture, we can avoid letting confusion and frustration run rampant in our organisation. Company culture is reflected in everything from the purpose and mission statement to the company vision. It needs to stay consistent in order for employees and customers alike to understand what they can expect when working with you or buying your products/services.

If you don’t take the time to think about how you want the organisation culture to unfold, one will spring up without your input, and it might not be good! A negative culture will likely lead to poor employee retention, customer dissatisfaction, poor quality control and poor morale, amongst other things.

Some of the things you can do to define your culture are:

  • Discuss culture with your team. Learn how your team currently sees the culture and how they would like to see it improve.
  • Clarity. Ensure that your strategy, values and vision all align with your culture so there is zero confusion about the standards you operate within and why they are essential.
  • Ensure everyone is aligned with the Company values. The values should act as the foundation of your culture. Ensure these are front and centre, use them as a hiring basis and also when it comes to performance reviews.
People Culture

Developing a People Culture Framework

Elements of your people culture framework should already be part of your strategy; if they are not, you need to start there.

Your framework for culture should include the following:

  • Your purpose. Why do you exist?
  • Your values. How we work together as a team.
  • Your vision.
  • Your mission.

To learn more about developing each part of this framework view, our articles focused on each point.

What is a Culture Strategy for Business? Read More »

Using a SWOT Analysis

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

SWOT Analysis

What is a SWOT Analysis?     

 A SWOT is a tool or framework that enables you to easily assess each of the four key areas that should always be at the forefront of your business strategy.

The SWOT analysis is an essential tool for any business to use, as it helps them identify what they do best and how they can improve in future. It also allows companies to see areas where competitors might be able to take advantage if protections aren’t put into place immediately-helping. You stay one step ahead!

The SWOT analysis is an examination of both internal and external factors to see how they can be used to your advantage. Some of these will come with control, while others may not. Still, it’s wise that wherever possible, you should take action based on what information has been compiled during this process – even if logging everything into a spreadsheet or database will help give insight into where there might still be unexplored opportunities!

Let’s explore how to carry out a SWOT analysis in this article.

When you Should use a SWOT Analysis    

The SWOT analysis is an excellent way to take stock of your position before making any significant decisions or creating a new/ updating an existing strategic plan. Throat clearing for new initiatives, policy changes or pivots can be done strategically by doing this analytical tool first so you know where all the strengths and weaknesses lie. It’s a great tool to use for identifying any blind spots that are easy to miss when you’re busy in the everyday operations of the organisation.

It’s also a good idea to include your team in the SWOT process; this way, you can ensure no stone is left unturned.

Team at work

Using your SWOT Analysis to Inform your Strategy

Performing a SWOT analysis is always valuable. But, like reading a self-help book and not putting anything into action, you’ll see no improvements. So the final and most crucial step is to create objectives and an action plan off the back of your findings so you can execute improvements immediately.

Using a SWOT Analysis Read More »

What are the Benefits of Having a Business Strategy?

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

An effective Business Plan is your roadmap to success. It clarifies all aspects of the business, from marketing and finance through operations, products or services you provide, and how you will outperform your competitors and stand out in the market.

A strategic plan will help you grow and expand, creating long-lasting success by ensuring that all areas are covered in detail.

Even if you’re not just starting, updating your business plan is a crucial way to keep the vision and growth of your company in mind. By reviewing and updating it often, you can identify what’s working well and where things could be improved for future success!

This article looks at the top 3 benefits of having a business strategy.

Clarity and Direction

A business strategy will help you set the direction for your company and make it easier to work towards, as you’ll know exactly where you are going. Your strategy will help you make the right decisions for your organisation. A good Business Plan can help identify what’s important and when to focus on them so that there are no distractions or resources wasted on unproductive tasks or investments.

Business Planning

Structure and Smart Decisions

With a strategically planned company, it’s more possible to know whether or not you’re making the right moves.

A business strategy will help guide your decision-making process and give an insight into which path might be best for success!

A business plan is like your company’s roadmap, setting out what you want to achieve and when keeping your company well structured. It becomes an essential reference tool that helps keep everything in order – from sales targets, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) or operational milestones and every other aspect of running a successful enterprise!

Working together in business

Measuring Success

It is essential to have a business strategy if you want your company or business to succeed. If there isn’t one, it can be challenging to measure success because the only thing that will count as being successful are things like revenue numbers and market share growth without any clear target in mind for what those outcomes mean specifically, which means they won’t help much when planning future moves beyond just looking back over past performance stats! A well-thought-out plan with defined targets ensures progress regardless of whether something went right this time or wrong. It helps organisations focus on achieving even more by staying ahead of themselves instead of getting stuck under their weight.

What are the Benefits of Having a Business Strategy? Read More »

What is the Business Strategy Planning Process?

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

Strategic plans are like a map to help you stay on track. They include an assessment of where you are now, your company’s vision and mission statements and goals to drive the company to success. The goals can be broken down into smaller milestones or tasks by the end date envisioned to ensure your business strategy is successful. The journey to a strategic plan begins by identifying where you are now.

Strategic planning is an essential part of any organisation.

No matter how big or small your business may be, there will always come a time when you need to think about where it’s going next.

This article will walk through how to get started developing one for your organisation, including what steps need to be taken to make sure everyone stays informed along the way!

Tracking Business

Developing a Plan   

It’s not enough to know where you’re going when developing your plan; your team must clearly understand the current state. This starts with understanding who they are and what makes them unique, but also includes asking questions like “What problems does this group solve for customers?” or “How do I see our success in terms of business goals?”. While these might seem simple on paper, collecting data from all stakeholders will help shape an accurate portrayal and identify opportunities missed at a high level. The critical data sources you should gather are; customer insights to learn about what customers want, employee feedback and SWOT analysis.

Once you have an accurate picture of your current situation, you can set some goals to improve and drive the organisation forward. When you’ve figured out your strategy, it’s time to put pen to paper. You’ll need a plan that is flexible enough for changing conditions but still has the outlines of what will happen at each stage.

Executing your Plan

Now that you have set up your plan, it’s time to execute it. This means clear communication across the entire organisation so everyone knows their responsibilities and how they can measure its success with key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs will help gauge which parts of this strategy work best for each business process to achieve optimum outcomes overall!

Measuring Performance

Review and Revise

Your strategic plan is a living, breathing document. It should be constantly reviewed to ensure you are responding to any market changes and updated as needed to ensure that you’re always staying on top of the game and taking the best possible steps for your company’s future growth!

Lastly, the most successful strategies are those that change and evolve with your company. As you achieve goals or the needs of your business shift over time—it might be worth creating a new plan to suit these changes!

What is the Business Strategy Planning Process? Read More »

What Should a Business Mission Statement Include

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

What is your organisation’s fundamental purpose? A mission statement tells consumers, both internal and external, what you hope to accomplish in the simplest way.

Mission

What is a Mission Statement?        

If you ever visit a website and find yourself wondering what an organisation is doing and why a  mission statement would undoubtedly help them to clarify. It should be simple enough for anyone to understand what they exist to do clearly.

Every brand has a purpose, and the mission statement articulates that intention. It’s an integral part of any successful branding plan. The mission statement is an essential part of your business. It gives you the why and how to make things different from everyone else! An effective mission statement focuses on the value you deliver, is realistic, and inspires all stakeholders.

How to develop a mission statement      

The perfect mission statement is a delicate balance between what you want your company to stand for and how much time, effort and money it will take. There are many methods on how best to approach this balancing act, but here we list some clear do’s/ don’ts that should be considered:

  • Keep things concise. Short and to the point is best.
  • Think of the future. Ensure it reflects your long-term goals for the Company.

Don’t be limiting. Ensure to keep in mind expansion into new locations or products in the future

Expansion

Things to avoid

The problem with most mission statements is that they’re just words; anyone can say they ethically source, are progressive and blah blah blah. They might be accurate, but it’s hard to tell what your company really does and why when you have such a general statement for an organisation–especially one whose goals can seem so broad in scope! Let’s be real: most mission statements are awful.

Here are the most common problems with mission statements; a list of things to avoid:

  • Avoid jargon. No one should need to Google what a word means to understand your mission statement.
  • Don’t add fluff. Be plain and concise in your language. Your mission statement should be to the point and as short as possible without losing the meaning behind it.
  • Don’t be boring. You want people to read your mission statement and be inspired by it.

What Should a Business Mission Statement Include Read More »

What’s Included in a Business Strategy?

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

A business strategy is a plan that helps you make wise decisions about your company’s future. It provides principles, methods and tactics for taking these actions within an organisation so it can be successful in its goal – growing!

Running a successful company is no easy task. As the owner or CEO, you must be able to understand your business and advocate for its success with investors and other stakeholders to get them on board- which means creating a business strategy that makes sense! In this article, we’ll discuss what exactly makes up one’s “strategy”, why it’s important and the different components of a business strategy to help you generate ideas for your own company.

Developing a good business strategy can be difficult, but once you have it in place, there are many ways to ensure your company is successful.

Developing Business Strategy

Vision, objectives and values

A business strategy can be a powerful tool for reaching your goals. The vision part of the strategic plan provides a clear direction. It enables you to develop tactical instructions that will guide what tasks need completion from which resources and who is responsible for them if they are completed successfully!

Business Leader

SWOT Analysis

The backbone of any successful business understands its strengths, weaknesses and opportunities. This helps to define where you can win with your current situation and areas that need improvement for the organisation’s goals to be met.

A critical part of the SWOT process involves being humble enough. Hence, there aren’t vanity goals that might cost more money than necessary because they were done without considering everything with a high level of self-awareness beforehand!

Execution and Measuring

Execution tactics and resources are the operational backbones of any successful business strategy. They ensure that time and effort won’t be wasted by not meeting goals and that resources are allocated correctly because managers know what needs to happen at each step for their plan’s success!

Backing this up is the measuring and evaluation phase, when you’re given the opportunity to review how well your company has been doing in relation to its strategic goals.

This can be done through measurement, ensuring that decisions are made based on solid data, not just opinion or emotion.

What’s Included in a Business Strategy? Read More »

Why Business Vision is Important

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Article by: Sara Pantaleo

Do you have a crystal clear mental image of what you want to be like in five years’ time? This vision can stop you from heading off course.

The best way to come up with your vision, I’ve found, is by creating an image in my head that depicts what success looks like at this point or somewhere down the line when these goals are accomplished! However, we need to be able to formalise and communicate our vision; this is crucial for the success of any company.

A good way to formalise it, which also helps you communicate more effectively with co-workers or clients alike, would be through writing down what this entails in terms of how best your company can achieve their goals in making an impact within said industry/field goes.

Setting a vision is the first step to creating something great. It means we are passionate and have dreams for where we want to end up! Having this larger-than mini goal clarifies everything that needs doing right now so you can get on board with achieving them all at once instead of spreading yourself thin over many different tasks/projects, which ends up giving less impressive results because there isn’t enough time spent working towards your ultimate objective.

What is the Business Vision?  

It is often confused with a mission statement. The difference between a vision and a mission statement is that the former looks towards what you want to achieve in future, whereas the latter focuses on current activities. Vision provides a sense of purpose and direction for your business. “Your” vision will help you define short-term and long-term goals. It can also guide decisions that are made along the way. A company’s vision must align with its mission, strategic planning, culture, and core values. A vision statement is not necessarily set in stone; it can be returned to and changed as the business evolves over time.

Passion

How to Define Your Vision?     

Now that we’ve established what a vision statement is, here are some steps to use when defining yours:

  • Be specific. It needs to be detailed yet easily understood by everyone. It should clearly spell out the future direction.
  • Make it challenging. Your vision statement should create excitement and inspire. You want it to be ambitious and motivating.
Do Something Great

Why vision is crucial

A vision statement provides a focal point for goals, culture and everything else. Most importantly, a company’s clear vision can unify employees and create more profound meaning for their work. Not only does this bring people together, but it also helps them achieve success as they are all contributing towards achieving shared goals. And if tough times arise, it provides the motivation and drive to persevere through those challenges. A vision is designed to inspire and align.

We can help you articulate your business vision.

Why Business Vision is Important Read More »

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