Can you say what your strategy is?

This is one of my all-time-favorite articles from Harvard Business Review.

“Can you summarize your company’s strategy in 35 words or less? If so, would your colleagues put it the same way?” The authors of the article argue that companies whose executives can honestly answer these simple questions in the affirmative are often the most successful in their industry. The same should apply to government organizations trying to fulfill their missions and objectives. Having a simple and clear statement of strategy creates alignment and a sense of common purpose among the different stakeholders. The article also argues that organizations that fail to do so “are likely to fall into the sorry category of those that have failed to execute their strategy or, worse, those that never even had one”.

The article also discusses the main components that should be included in such a statement of strategy in order to gain these benefits. The full article can be found on HBR website at: http://hbr.org/2008/04/can-you-say-what-your-strategy-is/ar/1

Cheers,

Marwa A. Abdallah