How to Optimize the Combination of Strategy and Storytelling!
The world has a problem. Most companies struggle to achieve the harmony of strategy, impact, and implementation. They lack clarity in defining their goals, effectively communicating their strategies and their impact within the company, and ultimately putting their plans into action. STRATEGY: Planning, Communicating, Implementing also helps your company to quickly, precisely, and successfully achieve its goals.
(1) PLANNING STRATEGY – WHERE IS YOUR COMPANY NOW AND WHERE DOES IT WANT TO GO?
Firstly, it is important to understand how strategy functions as a "path to the goal." Planning a strategy when everything else is in constant flux and change may seem contradictory at first glance. However, good strategy planning combines the short-term with the long-term. You cannot reach your goal if you do not know who you are and what you want. You need to understand what makes your company unique, how it is positioned, what untapped opportunities await you, and which disruptive business models align with your business to leave your competitors far behind. In this process, you can also learn from classics. For example, from Sun Tzu regarding speed, from Machiavelli regarding long-term goals, and from General Clausewitz regarding uncertainty.
(2) COMMUNICATING STRATEGIES – WHAT IS THE STORY OF CHANGE AND HOW DO YOU GET EMPLOYEES ON BOARD?
A strategy only works when it is implemented. The crucial step required for this is the successful communication of the strategy. Whether it is a change project, new innovation initiatives, digitalization strategies, or the sale/acquisition of new business areas: Change is not always perceived positively and must be convincingly explained. By you, the leaders! Strategies are closely related to storytelling: Strategy is the path to the goal in conflict with the competition. A story is the hero's journey to the happy ending in conflict with the villain. Therefore, a story is the best way to explain the strategies and the first step towards their successful implementation. You should also think about the strategies and your company's value proposition as a customer journey from the customer's perspective: How will you convincingly defeat the "villain" for your customer in the future, so that they cannot imagine any other company but yours?
(3) IMPLEMENTING STRATEGIES – HOW TO PUT THE PLANS INTO ACTION
We all know brilliant ideas that were never realized. Successful implementation is the key. In the end, you want a better company and not just a bookshelf full of PowerPoint presentations that no one ever looks at again. All your planning is meaningless if your strategies are not successfully implemented as a result. Consider how you need to integrate stakeholders into the implementation process to best implement your strategy. It is also important to understand the difference between strategy and operations, involve all parts of the company, and master the art of embedding the strategy across the entire organization. Here too, the classics offer good examples, such as General von Moltke's "Auftragstaktik," which later became "Mission Command." Strategy – Planning, Communicating, Implementing shows you the optimal way to clearly plan company goals and strategy, communicate them sustainably, and measure their integration within the company.
