Organizational Strategy: Definition and Examples - Tallyfy

“Organizational strategy is a dynamic long-term plan that maps the route towards the realization of a company's goals and vision.” This definition may sound ... Whenyougointobusiness,you’replayingtowin–andtodothat,youneedastrategy.Organizationalstrategyandstrategicplanningaren’tjustforbigbusinesses.Evenaone-personbusinessshouldconsideritsstrategyandworktowardsmeaningfulgoals.Thekeywordhereis“meaningful.”There’snopointinworkingtowardssomethingyoudon’tfeelpassionateabout.DefiningOrganizationalStrategy“Organizationalstrategyisadynamiclong-termplanthatmapstheroutetowardstherealizationofacompany’sgoalsandvision.”Thisdefinitionmaysoundreallystraightforward,butitsaysamouthful!Let’sdiscusssomeofthekeywordswe’veusedinthedefinitionandyou’llbegintoseethenuanceshiddeninone,simplesentence.StrategyisDynamicAlthoughyourgoalsmayremainthesame,thestrategyyouadoptcanchange.Thinkofagameofchess.Yourgoalistowin.Buttodoso,youmustadaptyourstrategyinthelightofcircumstances.Ifanotherplayercountersyouropeninggambit,there’snopointincontinuingwiththestrategy,becauseitwillfail.What’smore,yourvisioncanalsochangeastimegoeson.There’snothingwrongwiththat,butitdoesmeanthatyouneedanewroadmaptosuccess.AbitaboutTallyfyAreyoulookingtoautomatetasksbetweenco-workersorclients?You'vefoundtherightappforthat!WithTallyfy-youcanautomatetasksandbusinessprocesses-withinminutes.Let'sresumetherestofthisarticle!WhatisTallyfy?Tallyfyhelpsyoudocumentandautomatetasksbetweenco-workersandclientsClickheretolearnaboutTallyfyStrategyisaLong-TermPlanHowyoudefine“long-term”isuptoyou.Butthefurtheraheadwelook,thefuzzierthingsget.Mostcompanieschoosethreetofive-yearstrategicplans.Thisallowsforgreatercertaintythan,forexample,atwenty-yearplan.Butwhynotmakethetimeframeevenshorterthanthreeyears?Therealityisthatstrategicplanningtakesalotoftimeandeffort.You’dprobablyhavetostartworkingonyournextstrategicplanatlastsixmonthstoayearbeforeyou’vecompletedalltheactionsyouplannedlasttimearound.Withoutmuchinthewayofresultstoprogressfrom,shorterplansbecomemeaningless.StrategyisaRoad-MapMoststrategicplanninginitiativesbeginbyaskingthequestion:“Wherearewenow;andwheredowewanttobe?”Itcoverseverythingfromtheidentityofthecompanytoitsreasonforexisting.That’swhyyouwillbeginbyformulatingorrevisitingyourorganization’svision,mission,andvalues.Therearethosewhobelievethat“impressivesounding”vision,missionandvaluesstatementsarethewaytogo.Butifthesestatementsarejusttheretoimpressyourcustomers,theywon’tbenefityourbusiness.Instead,yourvision,mission,andvaluesstatementsaretheretodefinewhoyourorganizationis,whatitwants,andhowitwillachievethat.Ifyourvisiondoesn’tinspireyouandyourstaff–whyworktowardsit?Allmembersoftheorganizationshouldbeabletoidentifywiththedirectionyouaretaking.Onceyouhavelookedatthebigpictureofwhatyouwanttoachieve,thenextstepistolookatthejourneyyouwillundertake.Justsayingyouwanttoachieve$1,000,000innetprofits,forexample,won’tguaranteeyoursuccess.Whatstepswillyourorganizationtaketowardsthatgoal?Whowillberesponsible,andbywhenmusttheyachieveresults?Returningtotheroadmapanalogy,whatmilestoneswillyouneedtoreachasyouprogresswithyourjourneytowardsagoal?WorkingtowardsGoalstoAchieveaVisionThefinalkeywordsinthedefinitionwe’veprovidedareperhapsthemostimportantofall.Effectivegoal-settinghasverydistinctcharacteristics.Everygoalyousetshouldhaveallofthefollowingfeatures:Specific:Whenspecifyingagoal,thereshouldbenoroomforuncertainty.Forexample,“Wewanttobeindustry-leaders,”soundsgreat,butwhat,specificallydoesthatentail?Measurable:Measurabilityhelpsalotwithspecificity.Whereverpossible,usequantifiablemeasurements.Thatdoesn’tentirelyexcludequalitativegoal-setting,butyouwillneedtodefinehowyouwillmeasurequalitativeindicators.Achievable:Reachingforthestarssoundsgreat,butdoyouhavewhatittakestobuildarocketship?Setchallenginggoalsbutdon’tsetyourselfupforfailure.Realistic:Realismandachievabilityarecloselyrelated.That’swhyyouneedtolookatwhereyouarenowbeforeyoucandecidewhatyouplantoachieve.Doyouhavethenecessarycapitalatyourdisposal?Ifyouraisefunds,whatwillittaketocoverloanrepayments?Doyouhaveadequatelyskilledstaff?Ifnot,whatwillittaketoattractnewtalentortrainyourexistingworkforce?Time-bound:Let’sassumeyou’reworkingonafive-yearplan.Youwillidentifyseveralstrategicpriorities.Realizingthesemeanssettingaseriesoftasksandsub-tasks.Andsinceyou’relookingatathreetofive-yearplan,eachtaskmustbecompletedbyacertaintimeifyouaretoreachyourtarget.Naturally,thetimeyousetmustalsobeachievableandrealistic.Foranyonewhohaslookedatgoal-settingbefore,wearereferringtoSMARTgoals.That’sanacronymtoremindusofthefourcharacteristicsofaneffectivegoal.TheresultisaSMARTorganizationalstrategy.Porter’sThreeGenericStrategiesPorter’sthreegenericstrategiesreceivealotofattention.Somesaythattheysumupthebasicstrategicdirectionsacompanycanfollowverywell.Othersarguethattheyarebestsuitedtoverylargeorganizations.However,theyareworthmentioninghere,sincetheybroadlysumupthestrategiesyoucanchoosebetween.AccordingtoPorter,companiesshouldselectone,andonlyone,ofthefollowingstrategicdirections.CostLeadershipBeingabletoofferthebestpricescertainlymakesacompany’sofferingattractivetoclients.However,theimplicationsofcostleadershipneedcarefulconsideration.Afterall,yourproductorservicemuststillbeprofitable.Atthesametime,qualitymuststillbegoodenoughtoencourageconsumerstopurchasewhatyouhavetooffer.DifferentiationInthisinstance,youaren’tnecessarilylookingtobethecheapest.Instead,you’reaimingtobethebest.Inmostinstances,thiswouldprecludecostleadership.Thinkofdesignerbrandclothes.Theycertainlyaren’tthecheapest,buttheydifferentiatethemselvesfromno-namebrandsandbox-storebrandsthroughqualityandbrandimage.Whatmakesyourbusinessdifferentfromyourcompetitors?Iftheansweris“nothingmuch,”thetimeisrightforadifferentiationstrategy.Therearemanywaystoachievedifferentiation.Willyouofferbetterquality?Willyourservicelevelsandthequalityofthecustomerexperienceascendtonewheights?Willyouofferfeaturesandbenefitsthatothercompaniescan’tmatch?Thelistgoeson.Innovationstrategiescanalsofallundertheheadingof“differentiation.”Inthiscase,youwillbeimprovingyourproductandserviceincreativeways.Manyofthedisruptivebusinessstrategieswehaveseeninrecentyearscouldalsobeclassedasinnovations.ThinkUber,Airbnb,andQuickBooks.Theychangedthewaywelookattaxis,hotels,andaccountingbydoingthingsinwaysestablishedbusinesseshadneverconsideredbefore.FocusFocusstrategiesidentifyandtargetnichemarkets.Nichemarketsare,bydefinition,smaller,buttheycanbeenormouslyprofitableforthosewhochoosetoservethem.Theyalsoallowyoutotargetyourmarketingtoveryspecificmarketsegments.Forexample,acompanythatmakessurfboardsonlyneedstotargetthesurfingcommunity.Thatmakesitscustomerbaseeasiertoreach.Provideditcanoffereithercostleadershipordifferentiationit’ssuretogetlotsofsupportforitsproduct.OtherExamplesofCommonOrganizationalStrategiesBeforewemoveon,it’sworthlookingattwoothercommonlymentionedcategoriesoforganizationalstrategy.Arguably,theycouldfitintoPorter’sdefinitions,butthey’reworthconsideringontheirown.GrowthStrategiesWhenconsideringagrowthstrategy,youcanlookatseveraloptionstopursue:Increasesalesofexistingproducts.Increasetherangeofproductsandservicesyouoffer.Increasethesizeofthegeographicalareayouserve.Buyoutacompetitor.Remember,growthstrategiesareinvariablycostly.Whenchoosingtoadoptagrowthstrategy,besuretothinkthroughthefinancialandpersonalpriceyouwillhavetopaytoachievegrowth.Oftheapproacheslistedabove,thelattertwocanalsobeclassedas“diversification”strategies.Acquisitionstrategiescanalsofallunderthisheading.Inthisinstance,thecompanyconsidersbuyingoneormorecompetitorsinordertostrengthenitsposition.RationalizationRationalizationisnotnecessarilytheoppositeofthegrowthstrategy,atleast,intermsoftheresultsitproduces.Sometimes,businessesthathavebeenfollowingagrowthstrategyfindthattheyhavebecomeoverlycomplex.It’sevensometimespossibletodecreaseturnoverandyetmakemoreprofit–bothinabsoluteandpercentageROIterms.Inthissituation,businesseswillthinkaboutdiscontinuingproducts,layingoffstaff,reducingtheirnumberofoutlets,andgenerallystreamliningtomakethebusinessmoreprofitableandmorefocusedonwhatitdoesbest.Ironically,thiscanmeanfinancialgrowthasthebusinessbecomesmoreefficient.OrganizationalStrategiesbyBusinessFunctionWhateveryouroverarchingstrategymaybe,ALLthefunctionsyourbusinessundertakesmustcontributetoitsgoals.Thatmeansyourorganizationwillhaveseveralfunctionalstrategiesthatallcontributetoadefinedresult.Thesewouldinclude:FinancialstrategiesMarketingstrategiesSalesstrategiesProductionorservicedeliverystrategiesResearchanddevelopmentsstrategiesPurchasingstrategiesHumanresourcemanagementstrategiesJusttomakeyourlifeevenmoreinteresting,therewillbesub-categoriesforeachofthese.So,forexample,yourmarketingstrategieswouldlookatprice,distribution,product,packaging,andpromotion.Theremightbeaspecificstrategyforeach.HRmanagementwillhaveasetofstrategiestoo.Thesecouldincluderecruitment,retrenchment,remunerationstrategy,ortrainingstrategy.Andeachofthesewouldbeguidedbytheprimaryorganizationalstrategyyou’vechosen.OrganizationalStrategyinPracticeInpractice,organizationalstrategybeginswiththebigpictureyouwanttoachieve andthenbreaksthatdownintovarioussetsofactivities.Allofthesewillhaveacontributiontomake,sotheyareallpartoftheorganizationalstrategy.Onceyouhavedeterminedyourstrategyandwhatmustbedonetomakeyourgoalsareality,youwillneedtofollowup.Eachtaskmustsynchwiththeplan–andifitcan’t,theplanitselfmayneedrevision. NextStepsDocumentprocesses,onboardandtrainyourteamfromanywhereTrackprocessestopreventerrorsandomissionsAutomatebusinessdecisionsandclientexperiencesSeemoreaboutTallyfyTryTallyfyforfreeTalktoTallyfySalesHIPAACompliancePolicy6EssentialChangeManagementModelstoHelpInnovate&GrowCustomerTermsofServiceWhatisZapierandHowtoAutomateYourBusiness[3+Examples]TermsforconsultingandprofessionalservicesHowisTallyfydifferenttoothersystems? Ignitestaticproceduresandflowchartsintoreal-timeworkflowsbetweenpeopleStartautomatingworkflowsnowwithyourfree14-daytrialofTallyfy TRYTALLYFYFREE     DISCUSSMYQUESTIONS Onethoughton“OrganizationalStrategy:DefinitionandExamples”Thanksforinformingmethatanorganizationalstrategyismeanttobeaplanthatisgoingtobefollowedbythecompany’smembersthatwillhelprealizetheirgoalsandvision.I’mguessingthatstartupcompaniesmighthaveavagueideaofhowtodothis,soitmightbebestforthemtohiretheservicesofaconsultanttohelpthemout.Afterall,havingacleargoalandstrategytoattainabusiness’desiredresulttogrowissomethingthateverycompanyshouldhave,andbasedonmyexperience,aimingforsomethingreallyhelpsalotinkeepingthingsincheckwhenitcomestogrowth.LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*Name*Email*WebsiteCommentΔAutomatetasksbetweenpeopleSeethebenefitsofmoderntaskautomationWatchareal-timedemoNoemailaddressorsignupneeded