What is Strategy?

You must have heard Entrepreneurs, Businessmen, Managers, Consultants use the word “Strategy” a lot. You must have also observed “We need Strategist, strategic planner, and so on” in many job notifications, especially post COVID. 

Many say “Strategy is vital for any company seeking to grow its business. Without Strategy organization is like a ship without a rudder going around in circles”.

 

But what is Strategy? 

Are you aware that there are different types of strategies?

 

What is Strategy?

Often Strategy is confused with tactics. Strategy defines your long-term goals and how you are planning to achieve them. It determines how organisational resources, skills, and competencies should be combined to create a competitive advantage. 

Strategy varies from people to people/organization to organization. For instance, some believe in analyzing the current situation carefully, anticipate changes in the market, and based on the data plan out a strategy. They believe this is how we succeed in future. Meanwhile, few believe that future is just too difficult to predict, so we must evolve as per the conditions i.e., develop strategies organically based on position and time. 

Whatever may be the case I believe, “Organization needs to anticipate and prepare for the future at all levels”, for example, Successful and productive organizations have a corporate strategy to guide the big picture. Each business unit within the organization has a business unit strategy, which its leader use to determine how they will compete in their individual markets.

For a success an organisation must focus on three aspects i.e.,

1. Corporate level Strategy
2. Business level Strategy
3. Functional (team) level Strategy

 

Corporate Level strategy:

A corporate level strategy refers to the overall strategy of an organization that is made up of multiple units, operating in various markets. 

 

Business Level Strategy:

Strategy at the Business level is concerned with competing successfully in individual markets, and it address the question, “How do we win in this market?”. However, this strategy needs to be linked to the objectives identified in the corporate level strategy 

 

Team Level strategy:

To execute your corporate and business unit strategies successfully, you need teams throughout your organization to work together. Each of these teams has a different contribution to make, meaning that each team needs to have its own team-level strategy, however simple.

 

This team strategy must lead directly to the achievement of business unit and corporate strategies, meaning that all levels of strategy support and enhance each other to ensure that the organization is successful.

 

Note: Tactics are much more concrete and are often oriented towards smaller steps and shorter time frame along the way. They involve best practices, specifics, plans, resources, etc., they are also called initiatives.