By, Steve Finkelstein – Senior Partner
Asking the right strategic questions is crucial for business game play. The right strategic questions and your answers provide a framework from which you can prepare your company to move forward—and ahead—of the competition. Below are some of the key macro questions that will enable you to take a hard look at your current position as well as your next moves to propel your company into the future.
Complete a high-level S.W.O.T. analysis of you company
Strengths
- What are your company’s strengths?
- How can you leverage them?
Weaknesses
- What are your company’s weaknesses?
- What methods could you use to address and minimize them?
Opportunities
- What are your company’s opportunities?
- How can you seize them?
- Is there a way to create new opportunities for your company?
Threats
- What are your company’s threats?
- How can you mitigate them?
Competition
- Who will be your future competitors (suppliers, partners)?
- What is your competitive advantage? Differentiation?
Trends
- What are the current business trends of the industry?
- What are the future business trends of the industry?
- How are the current trends impacting your company?
- How will the future trends impact your company?
- How can you proactively capitalize on current and future trends?
Growth
- To what level do you want to take your company?
- How fast do you want to grow?
- How are you going to accomplish this growth and the rate of it?
Gaps
- Where are the gaps in your people, process, technology, and tools that will prevent you from meeting your future objectives?
Action (To Achieve Objectives)
- What are you not doing today that you need to start doing to achieve your objectives?
- What are you doing today that you need to stop doing so that you have the available resources to start doing?
Ongoing
- Paradigm Shift Question: “What is impossible today, that if were possible, would have a fundamental and dramatic improvement in your business?” Joel Barker, Futurist
In order to survive—and thrive—in the future, there must be a plan for today. Make that plan and stick to it. It’ll be a win for you and your entire organization.