SME Strategy is a strategy consulting company that specializes in aligning teams around their vision, mission, values, goals and action plans. Learn more about how we can help you and your team create a strategic plan with our strategic planning and implementation services.
Why is Strategy important to business growth?
Here are some practical reasons & applications:
- If you're part of an organization and things aren't going the way you want them to - Strategic planning will help you align your team towards a common goal or direction for the organization.
- If you're the CEO and you aren't sure if the company should continue on the same profitable path without growth, or if it should look for new sources of revenue and expansion.
- If you're someone on the leadership team and you see the need for organizational structure or change.
- And more!
Before diving into the process, you need to answer the question:
Should we grow or not?
Case study: An organization with 200 employees recently separated from a business partner and was just settling into their new organizational structure. The company was profitable and took on "the right amount" of projects every year that they won by bids and direct award.
They are in an industry with many opportunities over the next few years. As a owner run business with a five-person management team, they had a few questions about the future:
- Should we grow?
- Why or why not?
- What projects will bring the most benefit to the company in the future?
- What areas should we focus on?
- What do we need to change from an organizational perspective if we want to grow and take on more projects?
We can help you align your team around a clear vision, mission, values, goals and action plans,
so you can lead your organization more effectively and get better results.
At the end of the 2.5 day session, the team had decided that it was in their best interest to grow - not because it would mean more money, but because it would challenge and keep the management team engaged in their work.
They also were able to forecast their future projects both existing and prospective so they could allocate resources appropriately.
Through these discussions, they were able to identify some areas in the organization that were acting as bottle necks, slowing the efficiency of the organization. One of the key people was "silently" suffering because part of her job was under resourced. This lack of resources, although minor, was having an effect on the whole supply chain and the business.
At the end of the session the team was aligned on which direction they wanted to take the business in, and the amount of growth they wanted to see over the next three-years.
They set clear action steps and priority areas that they were to dedicate their focus on, and they had an idea of where the gaps were in their organization that might cause challenges for the business moving forward. This company recognized the importance of strategic planning to get their team aligned and to open up communication channels to make important decisions to prepare for growth.
