Sinkholes/Doline in Your Strategy

Strategy is the backbone of any organization. It can be compared with a ship's rudder. One can imagine the state of the ship that tries to sail without a rudder. Similarly, it is impossible for an organization to keep functioning effectively without a proper strategy in place. Oftentimes, top officials of organizations confuse strategy with mission, vision or even goals of an organization. One must understand that strategy in itself is not an achievable goal or objective, instead, it is a means to achieve your goals. In short, it is a roadmap to your organization's success. Thus, having an effective strategy is a must for every organization. Sinkholes in your strategy must be identified and rectified on time.    

The real question is how you can identify whether your strategy is foolproof or not? Business strategy consultants usually begin by answering these two critical questions.  

• What are the distinct strengths of your organization which give you an edge over your competitors? 
• What are the chances that these strengths will become obsolete in near future? 

When you answer the first question you become aware about the capabilities of your organization. Next, check if your existing strategy makes utilization of these distinct capabilities to their utmost potential. If not, you have got a problem with your strategy. 

The second question is far more critical and has a huge impact on the future of your organization. So many iconic businesses that were at their peak had to bite dust, just because their USPs became obsolete after a while, and they did not have a backup plan to cope with the changing market demands. There are so many examples to illustrate this fact, the latest being that of smart phones. Some giant handset manufacturing companies either had to lose business to android phones or had to come up with their own smart phones. Similarly, many printing related businesses could not cope with the digital revolution. 

Thus, it is imperative to build your business on technologies that are either time-proof or can be molded to meet the market demands in future. If not, then this sinkhole can become bigger enough to swallow your entire business.