Thinking strategically requires that we understand the difference between strategies and tactics.

 

Strategies and strategic objectives imply long-term thinking. Sit back in a private place with a beverage and some music, or the sound of rain, or complete silence, and start your brain working to visualize where you want your business to be in five or ten years. That’s your ultimate and overarching goal. Some people call it a vision; it’s what you are aiming for across time – your business raison d’etre.

 

Now what are the five (three? seven?) most important things you need to accomplish before you are able to achieve that goal? Those are your strategic objectives.

 

Set those objectives in a priority or ranking system. Can they be achieved simultaneously or are they dependent on one leading to another. Now you have a bit of a longitudinal time component.

 

What is the environment like in which you wish to achieve your objectives?  Here’s the time to do your SWOT analysis.

 

What paths will lead to the achievement of each of your strategic objectives?  Ensure that they take advantage of opportunities, overcome threats, and take into account the internal strengths and weaknesses of your business enterprise. These are the tactical elements. What are the specific steps that you need to take to bring your tactics to bear on your objectives?  Those are your tasks.

 

Add time lines. When should each task be performed – today, next week, next year? Attach tasks to the specific tactics to which they pertain.

 

Consider your resources. How can each of your tasks be accomplished?   Ask yourself:  What will I need in human and financial resources?  What will I need in internal resources (strength, energy, attitude, education etc.)? 

 

Now you have the beginning of a plan.

 

By ensuring that your tactical thinking has real-time tasks that you can do or delegate, you’ve turned your strategic plan into an action plan.

 

If you are a woman-owned or –partnered business in Manitoba, we can help you with this process through our advisory services.

 

Simplistic? You bet. But it’s a great way to get started. You’ll pick up what you need on the way.

 

Posted by Sandra Altner at 10:43 AM 1 Comments

Tags strategic planning  strategic objectives  goals  tactics  women entrepreneurs  women-owned businesses  Women’s Enterprise Centre   

There’s a fun exercise that I do in my Creative Problem Solving classes to get the creative and logical sides of the brain working together. I ask participants to open the dictionary at random and write down a word from the page. Then I ask them to do this a second time. The next step is to create a bridge between the two words, i.e. to find something that links the words together in a rational way.

So what is the link between strategy and lasagna? I am going to use it to explain the difference between strategy and tactics, something every aspiring entrepreneur definitely needs to know.

There are several steps required when I make my very special super-sized (as in big as a baby’s bathtub) lasagna pasticiatta. I make a double or triple recipe because it is very labour intensive so I’d like to have some futurity built in. A bit like not doing an entire strategic plan every year; you should have one that works over a longer time period.

1. Information Gathering
Who is coming to dinner? How much can they eat? Do they have food allergies? Do they like Italian food? If they don’t like Italian food, do I want them at my table?

2. Logistics
Is my pan big enough? Do I have all the ingredients I need and if not, can I get them locally? Do I have enough room in the freezer for the leftovers? Should I make or buy lasagna noodles?

3. Environmental Scan
Is the entire world on a diet? Is there a shortage of tomato sauce in Manitoba?

4. SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses, Opportunities/Threats)
Should I be on a diet? Will I eat all the leftovers myself? Will I then need to be on a diet? Can I afford to make this dinner? Will so many people love my lasagna that they will recommend I start my own food manufacturing company and will I then become a slave to my own home-based business?

5. Develop Strategic Objectives
Create the perfect lasagna that meets the needs of my dinner guests (on several occasions); ensure that it doesn’t poison/offend/intimidate anyone; assure everyone that it has few calories and is easily digestible; go easy on the tomato sauce.

6. Action Plan (Tactical elements)
Buy ingredients; take a day out of my life to make the two sauces, prepare the three cheeses, boil and dry the noodles, assemble the lasagna; serve and beam modestly at the compliments.

Vision achieved, mission accomplished, objectives met.

Sandra Altner

Posted by Sandra Altner at 10:23 AM 0 Comments

Tags strategic planning  strategy and tactics