Thinking Strategically

Strategy is the great work of the organisation. In situations of life or death, it is the Tao of survival or extinction. Its study cannot be neglected.  —Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Strategic thinking and development is a deliberate search for a plan of action that will develop a business’s competitive advantage and compound it.

When implementing specific programs, this involves acquiring the requisite resources, developing the process, training, process testing, documentation, and integration with (and/or conversion from) legacy processes

Strategic thinking

With time, people in the firm routinely make their decisions within the framework of the firm's strategic vision and mission. Strategic planning becomes an organisational norm, deeply embedded within the firm's decision-making process, and participants learn to think strategically as part of their regular daily activities. Strategic thinking involves arraying options through a process of opening up institutional thinking to a range of alternatives and decisions that identify the best fit between the firm, its resources, and the environment. 

Strategic Management

The process of crafting and implementing an organisational “game plan” for:

• Creating customer value
• Sustaining competitive advantage
• Achieving performance targets

Strategy

A strategy serves as the foundation of a plan for achieving the vision, goals and objectives of an organisation. A plan outlines a list of specific actions required to successfully implement a specific strategy.

A good strategy needs to integrate an organisation's goals, policies, and action sequences (tactics) into a cohesive whole. The objective of a strategy is to provide a foundation from which an effective tactical plan is developed. This allows the organisation to carry out its mission effectively and efficiently.

Marketing strategies are partially derived from the broader corporate strategies, corporate missions, and corporate goals. They should flow from the firm's vision and mission statement.

Strategy is one element in a three-part structure.

First are the ends to be obtained.

Second.  Strategy is about means. It is about the attainment of ends.  It is concerned with how to achieve goals and objectives. It is the ways in which resources will be deployed.

Third are tactics, the ways in which resources that have been deployed are actually used or employed. 

From The MXpress short course "Thinking Strategically" 200 other courses www.marketing.org.au