Member Article

Managing A Strategy

With Business LinkElaine Inglis from Business Link looks at how to manage a business strategy.The roles and responsibilities of running a business can often leave key managers with little time to think about themselves and the areas in which they could benefit from additional knowledge and training.

Yet their skills are crucial to ensuring their company’s success and maintaining its competitive advantage.Taking a step back from the day-to-day demands of running a business and looking at the way you work can be invaluable to your development and business success. As a manager you’ll be called upon to perform many different roles on a daily basis and you’ll naturally be better at some tasks than others.

One of those many important tasks is to develop, implement and carry out a business strategy. It’s easy to lose sight of the larger context when running a business, but spending time on strategic planning will help you know where your business is heading and how to position it to get there. Understanding the challenges and opportunities that a business faces and the best ways to address them and improve the overall performance of the business is a key skill for managers.Many business tools can help to determine strategy.

One of the most commonly used tools is a SWOT analysis, in which you consider all your business strengths and weaknesses, identify any business opportunities and any threats facing your business. Analysing these results carefully will show you how to build on strengths, resolve weaknesses, exploit opportunities and avoid threats.Another strategy tool is a gap analysis, in which to analyse in detail where your business is now and then consider where you want it to be in the future. Next, you analyse the gap between the two in order to find ways to bridge it.

A business strategy should be realistic, putting in place measurable targets for the medium-term. It should be reviewed regularly.Importantly, the task of strategy-building should not be delegated. Rather, as your business grows you can spend more time on it as others handle day-to-day activities.For Business Link services in your local area, please call: 0845 600 9 006. For further information from Business Link, visit: www.businesslink.gov.uk. Business Link services in the North East are supported by the European Regional Development Fund, through the Government Office for the North East, and One NorthEast.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .