Strategy formation
Strategy formation is associated with the development of a company strategy. Strategy formation is often associated with annual planning cycles, however may also have a continuous element to formulating the strategy throughout the year. It involves assessing your internal resources, evaluating your strengths and weaknesses, and determining how the firm will complete.
In addition to an assessment of your internal resources and capabilities, it is also important to be aware of what is going on outside of the firm – in the broad macro-environment, your industry, and also competitors. Analysis of what is happening outside of the firm is important in determining your competitive approach.
Strategy implementation
Strategy implementation is actually turning the developed strategy into a reality. It both involves actually following the plan and also learning and adapting the strategy based on the environment. Thus, in addition to the intended strategy, the implementation process typically has an emergent component, as the company adapts to the challenges that it is facing.
The importance of considering the implementation stage when developing the strategy
While implementation may follow strategy formulation, it is important to consider implementation at the formation stage. Being aware of likely challenges can help you adapt your strategy to make it easier to implement. If, for example, you foresee employee resistance to implementing the strategy, you can consider approaches to increase employee buy-in to the strategy.
Related Articles
