Strategy expresses the purpose and meaning of a business, creates the forward momentum for the company, and determines the criteria for the selection of activities so that all of its resources act in concert. This shared framework for priority-setting, staging resources, and other decisions results in greater consistency in decision-making across functional lines and encapsulates the internal systems perspective for the organization. Sharing the strategy with the organization empowers people and increases motivation, which improves productivity by creating a direction for action, thereby increasing the value of the company.

To ensure that the strategy is well-formed, sufficient attention must be paid both to the overview or planning level as well as to the action or functional level. Specific elements must be included in the strategy, as outlined below.

Planning Level

• Business Idea: the business's identity, its work

• Vision: where you want the business to go

• Mission: the purpose that describes the business's reason for being

• Strategic Focus Areas: the objectives that will guide executives and employees to achieve the vision

• Policy and Ethical Guidelines: how people will conduct themselves in the business

• Management Philosophy: the business's values and beliefs

Functional Level

• Action Plan Objectives: the smaller units of the strategic focus area, often divided by time (e.g., first quarter, second quarter, etc.)

• Action Plan: the steps that must be taken to accomplish the objectives

CPD's cornerstone intervention for corporate strategy work is Strategy Development & Alignment. We also provide a more limited and focused Strategy Diagnosis.