Strategy Models

The page is a summary of the main body of work and knowledge that exists today that help to turn big ideas and medium to long-term timescales into manageable and actionable plans.

Introduction

Strategy models are tools to help a company develop an action plan. They exist as blueprints for your business' growth.  Actions plans exist at all levels of a company and as such, so too should strategies.  Strategy formulation is a process in which a company, a leader or a team chooses the right course to achieve their business goals.

A strategic framework may include various strategic planning models to provide guidance toward effective strategy implementation and goal realisation, tailored to specific scenarios where they are most effective.

They all tend to boil down to something comparable to The Strategy Lifecycle steps show here. 

The six stages of the process are a variation of these:

PMI's The 7 C's of Strategic Management

Based on Zook (2004) the model contains seven core elements that, if considered, will contribute to the organisation's project decision-making process. The seven elements (7 C's) are: 

Zook, C. (2004) Beyond the core. Boston: Harvard Business School Press.

Read more here


Strategic Competitive Analysis

Five Forces Analysis 

Five Forces Analysis, developed by American academic and author Michael Porter, is a strategic planning model that helps organisations assess the competitive forces within their industry. 

Porter's Five Forces is an approach that lets you assess your product or service's competitive advantage in the market.

Porter's Five Forces include:

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Environmental Scanning

Environmental scanning is the continual analysis of the environment inside and outside of your organization. An environmental scan is used to evaluate potential opportunities, threats and markets, and to learn any number of lessons that can affect your company.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  A SWOT analysis (or SWOT matrix) is a high-level model used at the beginning of an organisation's strategic planning. 

PEST Model

In business analysis, PEST analysis ... describes a framework of macro-environmental factors used in the environmental scanning component of strategic management.

Like SWOT, PEST is also an acronym—it stands for “political, economic, sociocultural, and technological.”

The PEST model is similar to the SWOT model except you are focusing solely on external factors and solutions.

An extension...

PESTLE Model

PESTLE stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal, and Environmental factors. 


Strategic Planning (with execution in mind)

Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard is a strategic planning framework that helps organizations to align their objectives and goals with their vision and mission. The framework involves developing a set of key performance indicators (KPIs) that are linked to the organization’s strategic objectives and goals.

The balanced scorecard is beneficial because it provides a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance, allowing management to monitor progress toward achieving its goals. By measuring performance against established KPIs, organizations can identify areas that need improvement and adjust their strategies to achieve their business goals.


Broader Thinking 

Scenario Planning

Scenario planning is a strategic planning model that helps organizations to anticipate and prepare for multiple possible futures. The model involves creating several scenarios based on different assumptions and analyzing the potential impact of each scenario on the organization’s operations. Then, teams check in consistently to reorganize their scenario plans.

Scenario planning develops strategies that can respond to multiple possible futures rather than relying on a single forecast. By anticipating multiple scenarios, teams can be better prepared to navigate unexpected events, mitigate risks, avoid mistakes and take advantage of opportunities.


Blue Ocean Strategy

The Blue Ocean strategy is a strategic planning framework that helps organizations to create uncontested market space by making the competition irrelevant. The framework involves identifying the factors the industry traditionally competes for and developing strategies that create new market space by offering customers something new and different.


"  BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY is the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost to open up a new market space and create new demand. "

https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/what-is-blue-ocean-strategy/


The VRIO Framework

The VRIO framework is an acronym for “value, rarity, imitability, organisation.”  This framework helps organisations determine whether they can turn a resource into a competitive advantage.   Think of it as a strategic management tool for evaluating a company's competitive edge derived from its resources and capabilities.

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