Roughly put, in the strategy, you formulate your plan to achieve your goals with the company. Of course, you need to know what those goals are.
Therefore, you start with a vision. What does the future in the market(s) where you operate look like in the long term? What are the trends? Are there significant innovations? Is there going to be changes in laws and regulations that will alter the conditions? Or is there perhaps disruption looming that could reshape the entire sector?
Once you have mapped that out, you formulate your mission. What do you want to achieve with your company? It’s not very useful to stick to generalities like ‘delivering good quality,’ ‘satisfied customers,’ or ‘making a lot of profit.’ It’s about thinking about the position you want to hold in the market… innovator, market leader, geographical expansion, challenger, quality leader, the most cost-effective solution, and so on.
Purpose
Nowadays, companies also articulate a ‘purpose.’ This goes beyond what value you want to provide to your customers. It indicates what you want your company to contribute to society and how you involve all stakeholders in that. In short: what is your company on this earth for, and what does it add?
How do you achieve the strategic goals you have defined in the mission and purpose? You describe that in the strategy. This becomes the route to get there; the path to your success. In your strategy, you detail what you are going to do, how you are going to do it, and what you need in terms of people, resources, and time. It should be concrete and manageable, providing focus and structure.
From Strategic Goals to Concrete Action
Creating a strategy involves making choices. You can’t do everything at once, so you have to prioritize. A strategic business plan often includes sub-plans in areas like sales, marketing, personnel, ICT, and other departments. You want all those plans to contribute to the same goal. It’s an ongoing process. The market changes, customer needs change: you have to stay in motion. Hoek and Blok helps you formulate strategic goals and develop a concrete action plan.