5 Warning Signs Your Business Needs a Strategy

Effectively most businesses don't feel they need a strategy until something stops working. That might be sales are slowing down or profit is dropping or there are cash flow issues or a new competitor is coming to the market to stealing their customers or there's internal struggles within the business. I'm Mike Harris and I help businesses to successfully grow their turnover and profit. In the last year alone I have helped dozens of businesses at least double in size and I work with small, medium and large businesses including startups and multinationals. As you know part of my day job is advising clients on strategy and business plans and I'm often asked this deceptively simple question "when does my business need a strategy?" and it will come as no surprise that the answer I give them is you need a strategy all the time. But in reality most business leaders don't agree with me they don't recognise the need for a strategy until much later and yes beyond it sometimes when it's too late. So today we're going to talk about the moments the signals and the turning points when a strategy stops being optional and becomes essential. We're going to dive into when businesses need a strategy most. So one of the biggest myths in business is the idea that strategy is something you do after you've launched, after you've grown a bit or when you hit a problem. Many founders and leaders see strategy as a luxury, something you invest in when you have more time, you have more people or you have more turnover. But here's the truth most businesses don't feel the need for strategy until something stops working. The problems show up before the strategy does. So let's look at some of the most common points where organisations suddenly realise we need a strategy. Now for ongoing support join our new Patreon community, subscribe for exclusive content from the leaders and strategy podcast down loadable resources like our annual business plan checklist and access to a full business course. As a member you'll get discounted rates on one-to-one workshops the chance to have your business questions answered and featured in special monthly podcast episodes. Let's strategy and let's execute. Join our Patreon now and become a leader in strategy yourself. And if you need a strategy then join our Patreon now. So effectively most businesses don't feel they need a strategy until something stops working. That might be sales are slowing down or profit is dropping or there are cash flow issues or a new competitor is coming to the market at the ceiling there customers or there's internal struggles within the business. So let's break those down in more detail and have a look at them. So the first is when growth slows down and this is a classic one where a business was growing organically and then suddenly it hits a glass ceiling. What used to work no longer does and people don't know what they should do next. Another time when businesses feel that they need a strategy is when the teams are becoming overwhelmed or misaligned and a good indicator that this is happening is when you hear things like we're busy but we don't know if we're busy with the right things or everybody is working hard but we don't seem to be moving forward. This shows that there's a strategy problem rather than a productivity problem. A third example is when you lose your competitive age your market is shifting there's new competition taking customers there's better positioning out there in the market others are offering a better customer experience if you're reacting instead of leading then you're going to be behind your competition. A fourth of example where businesses suddenly wake up to needing a strategy is when the business is trying to scale without a structure. Let's be honest you can't scale chaos actually you can but all that leads to is even bigger chaos a moment comes when every organisation realises it can't grow without clarity on who it serves how it wins and where it's going. This episode is sponsored by Strategist Consulting expert business and leadership consultancy for everyday businesses and professionals. What if the key to your business's next growth phase isn't a mystery by the proven process is your business at the ceiling with profits flat daily chaos and scaling up feeling like a risky lead you're not alone and you don't have to solve it alone Strategist Consulting is your partner for structured transformative growth led by my carers a proven strategist and project manager with expertise in scaling businesses bid management and delivering results we provide clarity through our call service the business review workshop this isn't just advice it's a deep dive analysis that delivers a clear actionable roadmap we identify your bottlenecks uncover hidden opportunities and give you the precise steps to move from stuck to strategic execution visit www.strategistconsulting.co.uk now and transform your business trajectory and my last example of where businesses suddenly realise they need a strategy is when leaders lack confidence in decision making now this is a subtle one and the clue to the fact that this is happening when you hear yourself saying we've got options but I'm not sure which is one is right or we're doing too many things are not enough of the right ones a clear strategy will make these decisions easier faster and less emotional so the best time to develop a strategy is obviously before any of those things appear the best performing organizations don't wait for slowdown or for a crisis they plan the next stage while things are going well bit like if you're maintaining a car you fix things before they break because it's always cheaper and easier than repairing the damage later on so what should your business do when it reaches one of these points well I think there are three fundamental steps first is clarify the problem this sounds simple but most organizations died lose the wrong issue so have a look at it is it a sales problem is it a positioning of the business issue has the market shifted or is there a leadership priority challenge next we're established direction so this is the strategic core where are we now where are we trying to get to and what will we focus on to get there and then thirdly align your people processes and resources a strategy is not a PowerPoint presentation it's what people do differently on Monday morning when they come into work and every other day so there's an easy rule of thumb that I always share with my customers if the decisions feel difficult slow on certain you need a strategy because ultimately strategy is the decision making filter it turns million possible choices into a small number of smart ones so that's it for today I hope you've enjoyed it so in summary when do businesses need a strategy typically long before they realize it but recognizing the signals early and responding with clarity is what separates leaders who constantly firefight from those leaders who build sustainable predictable growth if your organization is at one of those crossroads pluttering overwhelmed facing new competition or struggling with direction this might be the right moment to pause zoom out and look at your strategic foundations that will guide you to the next stage of growth as you know I like to set some homework but this time I'm going to do something a bit different I'm actually going to carry out the homework with you so let's explore whether you need a strategy so firstly let's identify your current strategic signals ask yourself are we plateauing are decisions feeling difficult or slow are we reacting more than leading our teams busy but miss a line write down which signals your businesses experiencing right now even if it's just one of those items secondly complete a state of the business snapshot in one page or less outline where are we today what's working what's not working what do you think is changed in the market with your customers and the competition this will help create clarity and force you to confront realities before you start planning three define your next 12 to 18 month direction answer these three questions where do we want to be in 12 to 18 months time what are the top three priorities that will get us there what will stop us from achieving this make it concise make sure it fits on a single page and lastly choose one area to simplify identify one thing you can streamline this week it might be a project a meeting a process a product a communication after all you've got to start somewhere so you might as well start with this and if you need a more detailed review of whether you need a strategy. let me know. I've certainly got a lot of experience which can help you develop your business. So I'd like to know how you get on. Message me directly on LinkedIn or email me, give me your comments and we can utilise those in future episodes of the podcast. And you can also join our Patreon and become part of the leaders and strategy community where we're all sharing and assisting and helping each other become better leaders and strategy. And just a quick reminder of where you can find us, you can watch us on the leaders and strategy YouTube channel. Listen to us and Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music, Podbean and PodJacer. And of course we upload every episode onto my LinkedIn page and also onto the Strategies Consulting website. So that's it for today. I hope you've enjoyed it and you come back again soon. Well, we'll have another great episode where we'll be speaking to a guest who will help us maximize our business. I'll see you then. Thanks.