Here are 3 strategic objectives I’ve seen more than once:
- Employee engagement
- Marketing
- Customer retention
Trouble is they’re not strategic objectives. They’re topics. Functions. At best a wish-list of stuff we want to look at, get better at, or start doing.
But not strategic objectives.
For your strategy is to stand a hope of happening, the first thing you need is to clarify what the strategic objective is, ideally with 3 parts:
1. What’s outcome are you looking for? A single sentence articulation clear enough for your team to know what to deliver.
— “Become the most widely recognised digital agency for retailers in the UK”
2. Why is it important? So you can share a common understanding and empower decision-making with less escalation.
— “Retail is our biggest sector and we have a track record of success; rapid changes in retail open up opportunity if we can move quickly; it will be here for the long term.”
3. How will we know we’ve achieved it? Ideally falsifiable (“yes” or “no” answer), and as direct as possible (beware proxy metrics, or measures of activity rather than outcome).
— “In 12 months time, we will score highest in an independent survey of retail CMOs for digital agencies they would trust to work with”.
Now the team has a fighting chance of being able to break it down into detail and specific activities to get strategy done.
As we start 2022, if you want your strategy to be more than a PowerPoint deck, join me in my complimentary online workshop “Where your 2022 strategy will go to die, and what you can do about it”. Only for CEOs of companies with 12+ employees / £1.5m+ revenue.
How we can support you
- Join us on a workshop on how to scale your company; create time to focus on the bigger picture; and keep values and purpose core to your company. For max 5 CEOs of companies with revenues between £1.5m and £15m.
- Subscribe to our Bite-Sized Business Tips - thought snippets for values-centred business leaders. Every few days, a short focussed read on a specific topic of how to lead a company that values both profit and purpose.
- Talk to us to explore how we can help you scale your company in the direction you want to take it.