Page 85 - HBR Leader's Handbook: Make an Impact, Inspire Your Organization, and Get to the Next Level

Developing a Strategy 75

example, with a consortium of partners working on a collaborative ven-
ture, or to help launch a new experimental initiative or social advocacy
program your company is sponsoring. Every opportunity to develop new
forms of value, requiring informed choices about where and how to com-
pete within a particular domain, and then turning those choices into well-
aligned action, can provide you with valuable experience—teaching you
how to work toward your vision and achieve impact through the focused
power of people working together.

Questions to Consider

■ Starting point. Do you have a strategy for your unit or team that supports
the company’s current vision and overall strategy? Is it clear what your
team needs to do—or not do—in order to really make a difference? Is there
good reason to rethink your strategy now? If so, can you articulate success
and then set goals for a new strategy?

■ Audience. Who is the audience for your team’s strategy—your boss, the

senior executive team, your customers, other parts of your organization,
your employees, or all of the above? How can you align these stakeholders,
particularly if they have different expectations?

■ Key issues and challenges. What current challenges are facing your
team? Are external threats or changes in markets, technology, or com-
petition pressuring your business? What internal challenges are you also
facing? Are you competing with others for talent or budget? How will you
sharpen your understanding of these issues? Are you doing things that
don’t add value and you should stop?

■ Opportunities. What opportunities does your team or unit have for adding
significant new value to your organization and your customers? Are there
services or products that you can provide better, faster, or cheaper than
anyone else? What’s the distinct value that you can bring that will differen-
tiate your team from others? Is there data that can help you confirm these
opportunities?