Strategy for my Business

Every company, no matter how big or small, is managed in some way, whether the
management function is formally assigned to a specific employee or not. Even in
companies with more casual workplace cultures, approaching management from a
strategic, long-term perspective can increase a business’s chance of success. Strategic
management is the process of employing that kind of large-scale, objective-oriented
approach through the use of three major components: environmental scanning, strategy
formulation and implementation and strategy evaluation.

Environmental Scanning
The first step in the strategic management process is environmental scanning,
sometimes referred to as simply “scanning.” Basically, this is a process of quickly
reviewing and processing anything that might have an impact on your business and how
it operates.
Factors both inside and outside the company can influence a business. Managers are
usually familiar with what’s going on inside their companies, so internal factors may be
more obvious initially. For example, if your company is experiencing an unusually high
rate of employee turnover, it's an issue management needs to address. Other kinds of
internal factors include sales numbers, productivity rates and profit margins.
External factors may take a little more effort to find and process. Smart managers try to
stay on top of industry news and data, since these factors may predict or reflect
changes that will sooner or later hit their companies. Other external factors that should
be scanned include overall data on the economy, the target market and the company’s
competitors.
Each of these factors – internal and external – can become part of a thorough SWOT
analysis. This is a strategic review of a company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities
and threats. A SWOT analysis helps give a company a more accurate snapshot of
where it fits into the industry and the economy as a whole and identifies steps it can
take to grow and improve its financial health.

Strategy Formulation and Implementation

Environmental scanning produces a lot of information. Strategic managers use that
information and data to formulate a strategy that can be implemented company-wide.
A strategic manager develops thoughtful strategies to capitalize on the strengths and
opportunities identified in the SWOT analysis. Ideally, the selected strategies also either
bypass or minimize the importance of the company’s weaknesses and threats.
After the business agrees to implement the manager’s proposed strategy, the strategic
manager develops an actionable plan to execute that strategy. Each action or step in
the plan is assigned to a specific employee or department. These workers are
accountable for meeting specific goals in order to track the company’s progress towards
the overall objective.

Strategy Evaluation
Implementing a smart strategy isn’t sufficient by itself to meet goals. Once the
company’s employees are carrying out the planned actions, the company must also
periodically assess the results of those actions.
As part of their process, strategic managers identify relevant metrics which are carefully
monitored and assessed to make sure the company is on track to meet its goals.
Usually, the evaluation phase will set out specific, regular reporting periods where
managers and team leaders measure progress. This kind of scheduled approach helps
to make sure nothing falls through the cracks or gets overlooked.
The strategy evaluation process is crucial in strategic management. This is how
managers and businesses learn what’s working and what still needs to be adjusted to
achieve the best possible results.

Ongoing Communication
Each of the three components of strategic management requires excellent, consistent
communication to make sure the company’s objectives are met.
All the stakeholders in a business must communicate well with each other. Ideally, this
communication should offer each party the opportunity for input. This includes not only a
business’s employees but also relevant external stakeholders as well. Vendors, industry
leaders, customers and even legislators may have an impact on the planned strategy. If
that’s the case, their input should be considered.
At a minimum, the company should communicate its plans through the appropriate
corporate channels. Today’s technology makes it much easier for busy companies to
keep external stakeholders informed. Blogs, email newsletters and social media mean
it’s easier than ever before to communicate clearly with key constituencies.