Strategy is a set of choices leading to coherent actions that achieve our aspirations.
The Strategic Aspiration tool will guide you in developing the foundation for your aspiration in the context of what is changing in the world, the industry, and/or within your organization. The goal is to achieve strategic clarity – to hone your aspiration to the key role you want to play in the context of these dynamics to bring value to yourself and the organization.
The Strategy Aspiration will be the north star for your strategy development, living between the high-level mission/vision/purpose and the specific plans of action you will pursue. Once you define your Strategic Aspiration, you will use the Strategy Builder tool to 1) develop strategic options that define your choices and 2) evaluate each option to define a set of coherent actions for the organization.
The resulting Strategic Aspiration and Success Metrics play a pivotal role in guiding the development or change of a strategy. It helps to clarify and communicate the 'why' and 'objective' behind your strategic choices. Strategic clarity will help:
"If I had an hour to solve a problem, I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions." - Albert Einstein (attributed)
This Strategy Aspiration Tool slows you down so you can go faster.
Understandably, leaders are reluctant to slow down to develop a strategy. After all, aspirations are not achieved by pontificating about strategy, and often, 'strategy' is a big topic that can put teams into a spiral of questions, information, and debate. However, by asking just a few targeted questions, a more focused and productive conversation can be led that converges on a picture of the environment and the actionable options. Going fast does not mean boiling the ocean – it means asking the right questions and listening to the team's wisdom. The Strategy Aspiration and Strategy Builder tools will help you structure these conversations and address the few critical questions in strategy development.
