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What is a Strategy Framework

Strategy Frameworks, also known as strategic frameworks, are methods that organisations use to formulate plans for completing future goals. The objective of this type of framework is to outline how a business or department will use projects and other initiatives to deliver on the vision of stakeholders.

What are the 8 key elements of a Strategic Framework?

1) A holistic overview of your current situation: Before you devise a new strategic plan, you must ensure that you are aware of your current status. This involves making a record of key data, such as revenues, employees, satisfaction levels, and other metrics. The more information you have to compare with later, the more you will understand the impact of your strategy and how to adapt it in future.

2) Establish a clear vision: Transfer your business plan and vision into achievable strategic goals, that everyone agrees with and can contribute towards. Consider how you will achieve these targets on every business level. It's good to set KPIs at every level, from your general organizational goals to individual project targets. This approach is a great way to set a clear roadmap and help everyone connect their work to the vision.

3)Prioritize your strategic objectives: Prioritising goals is vital in showing your team what matters most. Pay attention to budget, time, impact, and the alignment of actions with your organizational goals and vision. Setting priorities will enhance your decision-making. You may need to make compromises, but with clarity on your objectives, your employees will always know what to focus on and what is less important.

4) Appoint people who you want involved in the Strategic Planning process: Collaboration is crucial when you develop a strategy. Consider which individuals and teams you need to reach each goal in your plan. Where multiple teams have the same objective, make sure that there are clear channels for communication and collaboration between them.

5) Decide how you are going to allocate your resources: You need to decide what team gets which resource, and why, and you also need to know if you have enough resources to complete your objectives. At some point, you may need to make some "cuts", and to do so, you should refer back to your priorities, and decide which areas are most important. It is equally important to include a safety net in your plan in case you encounter unforeseen expenses, and also establish limits so that you don't ignore your budget. Lastly, be emotionally in tune with your employees! Be mindful of people's efforts and team morale.

6) Go from idea to implementation: Share information and give direction. You need to get everyone to understand what they need to do and how they need to do it (and why). When people have the details and direction, it's much easier to take action and be productive. This vital step is what will put your plan into action.

7) Review your work: Use data analytics to gain a better understanding of how successful your strategy is. With real-time data analysis, you will be able to identify problems and also discover opportunities that can add value to your strategy. Plan regular check-in meetings with everyone and encourage frank, open communication. This will allow your team to bounce ideas off one another, and communicate any challenges they are facing. If your strategy is not working in the way you thought it would, then you can always adjust goals and change parts of the strategy. In addition, it is crucial to know when to discontinue with an operation, instead of throwing more resources at a problem that won't be fixed. Overall: listen to your team, understand the data, and make the decisions.

8) Reward your team / individuals of high performance: People are happier and more motivated when they do meaningful work, and appreciate when their efforts are recognised. Gauge what kind of reward would best suit your employees for achieving their goals, and you can always ask them if you are unsure. Try to find a mutually agreed-on reward or incentive structure that will help engage everyone in making your vision theirs and making success happen as a team.