Strategic Management Advice For Businesses

As businesses begin to get over the initial shock of the impact COVID-19 has had on their business, many are realising they must as revisit the long-term structure of their operations to adapt to the new environment.

This is where strategic management advice is so valuable. It provides businesses with the methods and tools to look beyond the day-to-day and think about how their business can operate and eventually grow in the new economic environment.

A great example of the need for strategic management is evident in the supply chain responsiveness to the current COVID-19 global crisis. Supply chains are currently heavily disrupted as a result of shutdowns and ‘panic buying’.

A comprehensive strategic management plan understood across the management team would provide a robust structure for consistent decision making in such unprecedented circumstances. In complex situations such as the one we are now experiencing, many are having to rely on an ad-hoc strategic management plan, which is not an effective way of responding to a crisis.

Poor strategic management accounts for 18% of businesses going bust, and yet 58% of businesses do not have a strategic management plan in place or do not monitor Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).

Of the minority that do engage in strategic management, only 6% have a clear written strategic plan that is shared with the management team and monitor at least 3 KPI’s, whereas the rest have an ad hoc or a narrow focus strategy.

It is often one of those tasks that gets put off until later as people are busy in the day-to-day.

Strategic management is a conversation that should be happening in businesses every single day, yet most only think about it once it is too late. Developing a comprehensive, written strategic management plan will not only propel the growth of your business, but also work to defend it when disaster strikes.

Management advice has a profound impact on innovation within a business. Understanding how to make your business better and smarter, as well as evaluating the market and product offerings, could be make or break in these uncertain times. This is because business owners have a clearer picture of where they are now – and where they are going.

Developing strategic management plans identifies the limits and potential of a business, which is needed now more than ever. Businesses will gain a greater perspective of what can be done internally, and what they can’t do with their existing skill set and capacity.

This may highlight the need to collaborate with other firms to partner on projects they can’t tackle alone or grow their business and boost productivity. With such a dramatic shift in the economic environment, it is important to identify the limits and potentials of your business in order to create a clear action plan to weather this new economic environment.

Planning can also help identify skill shortages. By looking outside your business and checking out what other firms are up to, you can discover where the gaps are in your business and what skills could give you a competitive edge. Reviewing the skills your team needs and how to effectively fill these gaps can increase productivity and ensure that your business doesn’t get left behind.

The economic disruption that has occurred as a result of the COVID-19 has proven that businesses must develop clear strategic management plans in order to continue to operate and grow in this new environment.