Reason number one of the 7 Reasons Why Your Strategy Is Not Capturing Your Full Profit Potential is seemingly the most obvious and in reality is so obvious that many won't admit it.  Just getting by becomes "good enough" and terms like "agile" and "flexible" become justifications for blatant failures in the areas of prioritization and leadership.

The number one reason your strategy is not capturing your full profit and market potential is that a strategy has not been formulated and does not actually exist.

The reality is a strategy must exist and include all the parts necessary to create, recognize and capitalize on opportunities to achieve your company's full potential for positive and profitable outcomes - everyday - every transaction.  Anything less is really easy and therefore really common.  Most companies don't achieve their full potential and thus standards of acceptability have eroded to the point where short-cuts and unethical or lazy decision making render "bursting bubbles", putting out "fires" and "financial crisis" that should not be surprising at all.

The details do matter.  Diving deep into the details of your strategy actually clarifies the steps that will get you where you want to go faster and not only gets all stakeholders on the same page, but on the portion of the page that is relevant to their role and optimizes their ability to contribute to success.

This does not require a lot of time.  It does require focus and follow through.  Unwillingness to prioritize time for strategy development creates an inability to answer the questions necessary to formulate a solid strategy and too often leads to decisions like "just going with what we have" and "we'll come back to that" for the sake of "time".  Strategy questions are tough questions because they require both some uncertain decisions and leadership that is willing to make those decisions.  Having clarity around your strategy provides clarity around what elements of the strategy are effective, working, not working or possibly missing.  It allows you to iterate faster and fine tune your competitive advantages.

Your business strategy clearly defines your objectives and how your company intends to generate positive and profitable results within the markets you serve. Your entire operations must align to that strategy and enable your employees to execute it daily. It is the strategy's communication and execution that determines whether your company can turn good intentions into targeted, profitable and sustainable outcomes. 

7 Reasons Why Your Strategy Is Not Capturing Your Full Profit Potential

    1.  A strategy has not been formulated and does not actually exist.

    2.  Lack of current and relevant information about your customers wants and needs.

    3.  Your strategy fails to recognize the limitations of your company.

    4.  Employees don't know how the strategy applies to their everyday work.

    5.  Your operating policies, processes and procedures do not support your strategy.

    6.  Performance metrics and rewards are not aligned with your strategy or market timing.

    7.  Lack of focus and follow-through disconnects you from your strategic objectives.

We will cover reasons 2 thru 7 in the days ahead . . . stay tuned . . . better yet stay focused on fine tuning and communicating a solid strategy.