Business Catalysts

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW: The traditional strategic planning model is DEAD.  A classic strategic plan is useless the moment it is finished.

This is because our world is changing so fast and in such extreme ways, it is essential to learn and cultivate a high degree of strategic flexibility for turbulent times. This is what real strategic planning is all about now.

Most business owners don’t know what strategy actually is, much less have one. But it’s not their fault, because the term Strategy has become watered down in our society.

A Strategy is not a goal, a set of initiatives, or a plan.

Strategy is first and foremost about accurately diagnosing a problem.

Then it concentrates entirely on creating an overall approach for solving that problem.

And finally, a Strategy must always include a unique set of coherent actions that lay out a clear path for implementing the overarching approach that has been selected for solving the problem.

Cultivating Flexible Business Strategy is about continuously identifying and tracking a variety of social, economic, and political factors that will have the greatest impact on your business. It means having warning signals and triggers set up that will let you know when it’s time to pivot and respond should any number of future possible scenarios occur.

Flexible Business Strategy is a continuous iterative process and involves

• Identifying extreme yet likely possible future scenarios
• Pinpointing important strategic options
• Minimum viable resources to enact strategic options
• Conducting experiments before changing directions
• Warning signals to know when to change course
• Establishing a system for in-time and ongoing monitoring
• Acquiring personal patterns for staying highly adaptable to changing conditions