Short Strategy Statements - Learn the 5 Key Elements of This Powerful Management Tool

The Five Key Elements of a Short Strategy Statement

My last article ended by defining strategy as "a beacon that specifies a goal, a time frame for achieving that goal, the context in which the the goal will be reached, and the company's unique approach that guarantees its success." Let's look at the five key elements in this definition:

Strategy

1. Note that the word "goal" is singular. Strategy is designed to focus the entire organization around a single focus. Do one thing and do it exceedingly well. Sharply defined strategy cuts like a well-honed knife; a strategy with multiple goals cuts like a marshmallow.

Short Strategy Statements - Learn the 5 Key Elements of This Powerful Management Tool

2. Stating a time frame is vital. It provides impetus and motivation. Combined with a clearly stated goal, the time frame becomes the first of the key performance indicators that is necessary to ensure the successful implementation of strategy.

3. The context describes the specific competitive arena in which the company will operate. Be crystal clear on this. Don't just say "We're going to grow to a 10 restaurant chain by 2012″. Say "We're going to grow to a chain of 10 family-oriented, sit-down, full-service, Italian restaurants in southern Oregon by 2012″.

4. The most important part of strategy is defining what makes you different from your competitors. Why would somebody choose to eat in your Italian restaurant rather than the one next door? Is it the food? The locations? The physical design? The live Italian music? It must be unique and it must be something that your competitors can't replicate.

5. Finally, strategy is "a beacon". Once a strategy has been created it needs to be simply stated and widely distributed within your company in order to achieve its full potential. One of the best ways of doing this is to reduce your strategy to a single sentence.

Putting It Into Practice

With this in mind, here's another example of a one-sentence strategy statement:

Acme will add 35,000 net new customers by December 31, 2014 by offering premium, web-based, price comparison software to mid-sized,English-speaking North American commercial construction companies using a "high touch" sales and support approach.

Can you pick out the goal, time frame and context? How would Acme have guaranteed the uniqueness of its approach?

Short Strategy Statements Align The Company's Activities

Condensing their strategy into a single sentence means that it can now be easily communicated to everyone in their organization. This immediately provides a framework that helps align their entire staff. It saves staff time and energy by pre-empting or easily answering many of the little questions that arise each day:

• "Can I attend the European trade show to see what their market is like?"
• "Will we bundle hardware with our offering?"
• "When will our Spanish version be ready?"
• "Will we match our competitor's price?"
• "The residential construction association called. Should I do a presentation for them?"

Their strategy statement will also influence the larger decisions such as hiring, product development, sales approach, IT deployment, office development - in fact, every decision can be shaped by this one 35-word sentence.

A single sentence strategy statement is an incredibly powerful tool that helps management align the entire workforce. Can you write your firm's strategy in a single sentence?

References
I am grateful to David J. Collis and Michael G. Rukstad, the authors of "Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?" published on page 82 in the April 2008 edition of Harvard Business Review.

Copyright © 2010 Alex Glassey

Short Strategy Statements - Learn the 5 Key Elements of This Powerful Management Tool

Alex Glassey is a business strategy expert who leads Glassey Consulting. Glassey Consulting helps its clients with business strategy implementation by aligning their sales, operations and information technology around a clearly defined strategy.

To see how well your firm is doing with its strategy implementation, take Glassey Consulting's free 60-Second Strategy Assessment.

How To Prepare For Case Studies In Management Consulting Interviews

Management consulting interviews are notorious for case studies. They are not your standard job interview, but rather a series of case descriptions and hypothetical or theoretical problems in business, which are expected to be analyzed or solved by the candidate. Preparation for such interviews is crucial to success and getting hired with a top management consulting firm.

Firms, such as McKinsey or Bain present a series of case studies during the interviewing process. The skills necessary to successfully perform on a case study interview are the similar skills needed to work effectively as a management consultant. Management consulting experts are required to understand the basic concepts in business, such as market structure or financials, as well as think analytically and in a highly structured manner. A management consultant's daily job basically consists of real-life case studies, so the case study exercise in an interview setting provides the hiring committee an active assessment of how well the candidate performs in core firm activities.

Strategy

BCG and A.T. Kearney have been using case study interviews for years with proven success. Hiring committees from these leading management consulting companies indicate that the process is nearly foolproof. If a candidate performs significantly well on a case study interview, they show that they will be a good fit for the company.

Preparation is needed before going in front of a hiring committee at any firm. In fact, top consulting firms like Booz recommend practicing as much as possible with friends, co-workers, and other consultants. Practicing in front of the mirror is a great way to overcome insecurity and provides a wonderful way to self-examine in terms of body language and style.

There are a number of case study practice guides available on the market today. In fact, some companies offer practice questions and interviewing tips on the company website. You don't need to drain your bank account by purchasing every study guide that was ever published, but selecting two or three solid and reputable guides may help you to succeed on your management consulting interview. The more exposure that you have to the types of questions and cases offered, the more prepared you will feel going into your interview.

It is important to think about cases and scenarios in your everyday life in preparation for your case study interview. This means, for example, that when reading the business section of the New York Times, you should put yourself in the position of the CEO. Ask yourself how you would handle the problem: what would you do, what kinds of things would you do to lead your team. By presenting yourself with these types of scenarios on a constant basis, you are preparing yourself for the management consulting interview. It is important to be able to think quickly on your feet and present an answer with confidence and determination.

The case study is valued so highly that you performance on this task accounts for at least 50% of your determining score. It cannot be emphasized enough that it is crucial for you to prepare for these kinds of interviews. Doing well on this portion of the management consulting interview weighs heavily on you getting hired by the firm. If you are looking for an offer at one of the leading consulting firms, the best thing to do is practice, practice and practice some more. You cannot practice enough for the case study stage of the interview; when you are sure you have done enough, you need to go back and do more.

Landing a job at a management consulting firm is no easy task, but you can increase your chances of getting hired by doing your homework ahead of time. Take the case study interview portion of the hiring process seriously and land the job of your dreams.

How To Prepare For Case Studies In Management Consulting Interviews

Need strategies for your management consulting interview? Download our free guide, "How to Land a Consulting Job" to get more insight into case studies and the interview process. ConsultingFact.com offers insights to help you land the consulting job of your dreams.

Key Account Management - 7 Tactics to Build Into Your Sales Program

Not all customers are created equal ... in the volume that they buy from you or the profitability that they bring to you. Some of your customers have key significance to your business. They may be your largest customer, or your highest profit customer, or your must significant national (or international) account.

Do you practice key account management strategies in your business? If you don't, you probably should. Key account management is used in business to business sales relationships. Do you know what key account strategies are; and why and how you should you manage them?

Tactics

Key account management focuses your business on those accounts that represent a large percentage of a significant business measure: be it overall sales volume; specific product sales; national account status; profitability; and more. For example, if you sell to a customer who annually buys 18 per cent of your overall volume, that account is likely a key account to your business. If a customer only buys one per cent, or less, of your overall volume, they are still important to your business but that customer is not a key account.

Key accounts have a good deal of power in any relationship with their suppliers. It is up to you to manage that power, and build a relationship that is a balanced partnership.

When you build your sales plan, you will need to add key account strategies. Make sure that the plan includes a worst case scenario; losing one or more of your key accounts and how you will handle that loss. Your business survival depends on your readiness to respond and pro-act, rather than react. Develop a scenario plan and analysis that will help you address a survival outcome.

It is challenging to replace a key account on short, or no, notice (I say this from personal experience). But it is possible. However, rather than losing a key account and having to deal with the consequences, focus your sales strategies and planning on building strong key account programs with strong exit barriers (customers will stay with you for a long time if you build the right program). Let me be painfully clear: it is better to keep your key accounts and grow them, than it is to lose one or more key accounts.

Key account management builds a focus on the overall value the customer or account brings. It is important to recognize it is not only sales volume and profit that is important, but the geographical closeness (if your customer is your next door neighbor it is easier to build a strong relationship); the long-term volume and relationship growth potential; the simplicity, or complexity, of providing a service; are all equally important (and in some circumstances, one value will be more important than another).

7 Key Account Tactics To Build Into Your Sales Program:

1. Set up a single point of contact for the key account: the key account manager. Dedicate internal staff to support the key account; e.g. the customer service representative; or shipper, or scheduler; or inventory manager; or whatever is required and have that staff report to the key account manager.
2. Volume discounts or rebates, or other price incentives: this is the standard - everyone does it; everyone expects it.
3. Build a priority ordering program for your key account(s), such as restricted access to your online order system.
4. Customize your product or service for the key account (for example, private labeling, or actual features of the product or service changed/customized for the key account).
5. Match your sales relationship with key account. For example, if the key account sells by the piece, carton, or whatever, your system should allow the same units of sale (multiplied if necessary).
6. Set up cross-business teams and initiatives to improve service, such as product development teams, quality improvement teams, branding efforts, etc.
7. Provide integrated delivery, fulfillment, re-order points, inventory, and invoicing.

Other than the tangible price value, the benefits your customer will receive from a key account program are less tangible: a highly customized, service-supported product or service.

Key account programs can also improve organizational efficiency; for example, improved sales efficiency, streamlined processes, focused communications, optimized order scheduling and inventory management, and a targeted sales plan (that might even include a global account management program) - there are efficiencies to be gained in this relationship. Business owners are challenged not to 'give back' those efficiencies in price reductions. The goal of key account management must be to not only keep the account but also to earn a reasonable profit from the account.

Key account management strategies are used in a business-to-business-selling environment rather than in a more-individual business-to-consumer-selling environment. Meeting your key customers' needs must be a driving force of your business. Build strong exit barriers (such as integrated inventory and re-ordering systems) so that your key accounts find it hard to leave.

Many business owners fear the key account relationship; they are afraid of the 'big stick' that the key account wields. But by building a strong key account management program that benefits both your customer and your business, there is nothing to fear - your key account will not want to leave (and take their business) because they will lose too much perceived, and real, value.

Key Account Management - 7 Tactics to Build Into Your Sales Program

To improve your key account relationships, visit http://www.more-for-small-business.com/key-account-management.html for more strategies. And for more small business advice on managing a small business, please visit http://www.more-for-small-business.com Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc., a business and marketing services company. Kris has more than 25 years of experience in successfully managing and leading large, medium and small businesses. Use Kris' experience to help you manage and lead your business. Copyright 2008 Voice Marketing Inc.