Everyone has goals they would like to achieve and ideas they would like to materialize, however many times the goals and ideas are never realized due to a lack in the ability to create an actionable strategy that leverages resources effectively towards an appropriate plan of action. Simply put, a strategy is a high level plan to achieve one or more goals, more often than not, under conditions of uncertainty. This article discusses my approach on “How to Build a Strategy” that I recently presented to a US government entity.
Building a strategy in an organization requires clear communication, expectation management and teamwork. One way to ensure that everyone is on the same page is to check in with key stakeholder throughout the process.
The 4 pillars for strategy are: Vision, Analysis, Target & Plan.
A strategy needs to built on the foundation of an overarching vision that it is meant to achieve. In this sense it is important to acquire guidance on the vision from supervisory authorities of the strategy. In the event such authorities do not exist, establish a vision one from scratch. Following the vision statement, determine the purpose of the strategy, and review and confirm what internal financial, political and non-monetary resource support for the strategy would entail. Many strategies fail due to lack of one or more types of “support”.
The analysis pillar of creating a strategy builds on the vision and goals, and assesses existing strategies that have been implemented. The assessment on previous strategies would focus on identifying gaps in fulfilling the new vision. At this stage existing goals should be reviewed to determine if they need to be reworded or amended in anyway. Then examine the success/failure of efforts taken so far and resources that have been already leveraged. With this in mind extend the analysis to Core Reinforcement and Growth Investment.
With improved situational awareness of the existing efforts, gaps, resources, core strengths and areas for growth investment, a targeted focus of objectives can be achieved. In the targeting phase of strategy, specific goals and outcomes need to be determined. For each goal, lines of effort should be described. After goals and lines of effort for them are identified, then tactical approaches should be created, given the available resources (political, financial, non monetary) in mind. When possible, metrics should be identified and used to measure progress and success of the efforts. Keeping in mind that there are both tangible and intangible methods to measure progress, effectiveness and success of a strategy.
The planning pillar of the strategy brings everything together in a plan of action. Efforts identified in the targeting phase should be priority-centric based on criticality to the achievement of the goals. For optimized and effective use of time and resources the goals should be prioritized as well. Then a timeline should be created with projected dates for executing and accomplishing tactical efforts and achieving goals. Keeping in mind political, resource and support constraints. Key stakeholders who need to be notified of the progress should be identified and it is important to make note of the specific way in which they should be updated on the progress of the strategy and its efforts.
Be ready to be creative andagile….
As German military strategist Helmuth von Moltke said “No plan survives contact with the enemy.” So be ready to modify elements of the strategy as needed. Former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower echoed this perspective and highlighted the value of preparation and planning when he said “In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless but planning is indispensable.”
Dr. Lydia Kostopoulos (@LKCYBER) develops strategy, speaks internationally on disruptive technologies trends and ethics; consults on security and strategy matters, teaches national security courses, and builds curriculum. She participates in NATO’s Science for Peace Program (SPS), and is a member of the FBI’s InfraGard Alliance. Currently she is the Director for Strategic Engagement at the College of Information and Cyberspace at the National Defense University in Washington DC www.lkcyber.com
