It is very important to establish the goals and objectives of the organisation as a first step towards crafting great strategies that would deliver success for the business.

We look at a number of best practice strategy frameworks such as benchmarking, balanced scorecard, Porter's five forces, the GE-McKinsey nine-box matrix, the BCG growth-share Matrix and core competencies to create the right environment for strategic discourse.

Competitive advantage is the leverage that a business has over its competitors. This can be gained by offering clients better and greater value. We take participants through a process of identifying and understanding their organisation’s competitive advantage and how to leverage the same  for greater success.

Understanding the environment within which an organisation works is paramount to determining where and how to play in that environment. It is, therefore, important to carry out an analysis of internal and external factors using such frameworks as SWOT and PESTEL to understand how such factors may affect the organisation’s strategic plan. A deep look at key stakeholders in respect of  their power and interest is a key part of this stage.

The essence of a good strategy is to create a distinct competitive positioning for the organisation. Here we help participants define the key differentiators for their businesses in order to  create a winning strategy for the organisation.

Developing a great strategy must be a collaborative effort. Every team must be given  the opportunity to make a contribution to the process. The strategy development process is more effective bottom-up than top-down.

A good strategy may mean little to the people within an organisation unless efforts are made to make them understand it in detail regarding their individual and collective responsibilities and the overall organisational expectations.

This is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak. Having a great strategy is all good but if it is not executed as envisaged then it is  not helpful to the business. A clear implementation matrix with key details as to timelines, responsibilities and targets must be in place to support the process.

A strategy is a living document that must always be reviewed every so often to ensure it remains relevant to the prevailing business dynamics. Where necessary it must be continually updated and implementation evaluated against agreed benchmarks.