By definition, the term STRATEGY is derived from the Greek words:
Strategos– which means “general or army leader;”
Stratos – which means “army”
Agein- which means “to lead.”
STRATEGY refers to a plan for the overall conduct of war or a sector of. By extrapolation, it means a plan for the skillful overall conduct of a large field of operations, toward the achievement of a specific goal or result. An effective strategy outlines the broad objective and the idea of clever use of resources or maneuvers for outwitting the enemy (competition) or overcoming existing obstacles to win the objective.
Often a new invention or innovative new product is launched with the enthusiasm and excitement that brought it into existence. Money and time are lost with unevaluated bright ideas or misdirected growth ideas or worse, are misled by unscrupulous advisors whose purpose may be a fast return. However, lacking a firm foundation and researched strategy the idea can end up in the heap of failures, failures only because there was no strategy.
Successful strategy comes from a well-defined and assessed accumulation of these key steps:
- Define the goal, what results will be accomplished by the success of your idea or project.
- Outline your Mission Statement and Vision that integrate not only the ‘what’ but more important, the ‘why.’
- The strategy for every brand, product or initiative must include the ethos and values that guide the strategy. These will include the values of how the product or service is developed, how the management system is structured, the values that must emanate through every touch point.
- Research your field and industry category by doing a deep dive into the assets and liabilities of the competition. When someone says they have ‘no competition,’ one is not looking far enough. The product may be unique and has been developed to address a problem, to make it valuable. One must look at the competition being whatever the solution was before to this problem.
- Developing a ‘clever use of resources’ as an integral part of a successful strategy does not mean pouring big bucks into unproven marketing campaigns, but look at the resources within oneself as well as one’s team and the environment. Circus Vargas not only provides memories of happiness, but its business model that every member is not only an exquisite performer, but also supports the other troupes in their act, a methodology that can be shared as a new business model and additional revenue. At Christie & Co we say this is often the ‘Missing Money’ and adds revenue without additional costs.
- Every strategy will also outline the unique messaging and branding that set the company or idea apart and above the competition. This is the icing on the cake, but without the fundamental steps above thoroughly done, there is no cake!
- Once the strategy is completed, and you will know when it is right as there is a special excitement and a spark of confidence that the future is bright!
If this strategy development process seems daunting, my team here will jump in and develop your Brand Architecture ™ that can help build a future for which you can be proud.
Gillian