Appraising Strategy

They worked closely with us to help understand how our environment was changing and what we needed to do about it

It’s never a bad idea to appraise your strategy regularly during implementation, usually quarterly. Leading companies appraise their strategy using key financials and strategy milestones, supplemented with a once-yearly, light-touch review where the original outturn to the end of the strategy is compared to the current performance trajectory – identifying and evaluating minor course corrections and interventions to achieve the strategic objectives.

Key triggers that would suggest a closer look at the company’s strategy include:

  • Competitors are continuing to outperform the market and the company.
  • The current financial trajectory is behind that predicted by the original strategy.
  • Missing a major strategy milestone – financial or non-financial.
  • Historic growth and performance drivers are decelerating or changing.
  • The strategy’s underpinning assumptions about the market landscape, relative position, strengths and weaknesses, competitors and customers seem less certain.
  • The strategy looks and feels like a bigger bet with increased risks and larger consequences now, compared to when it was created.

No matter how beautiful the strategy, leaders should always look at the results and an independent, unbiased critique can be insightful in determining where and how to change course. This is where we can help.

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