Strategy and Planning
Many people confuse strategy with planning. A strategy is the game plan for strengthening your business performance. It establishes the framework to make decisions. In other words, it defines the way to conduct business, deliver value to your customers, and achieve target profits. On the other hand, planning is how you are going to achieve the business objectives and goals.
A plan without a strategy will not be effective. Every organization needs a shared vision of where it is going. In addition, it needs to know what is the business model, and what will drive decisions. The strategy is how you are going to overcome the biggest hurdles. It is what guides everybody in the same direction.
You create a plan after you know where you are going and what will frame the decision-making process. Each project is specific for a goal and contains the detailed steps to achieve it. Effective planning requires a look into the company’s strengths and weaknesses and taking countermeasures.
Continuous Improvement, Lean as a business strategy
Lean is a business management system, that when it is implemented as a whole, constitutes a great framework to conduct business. The goal of lean or continuous improvement is to provide the customer with the highest quality, at the lowest cost, in a shorter time. Therefore, by using lean as a strategy, you will set your business for success.
Hoshin planning is the process used to identify and address critical business needs and develop people’s capabilities. Continuous improvement or lean is a strategy to win by developing the team into problem solvers. At times of economic uncertainty, it is critical to respond to changes in the business environment as fast as possible.
When you and your employees know how to identify and respond to the daily challenges, the opportunities for success grow exponentially. Never is late to change your strategy, and win!