Strategy is a very complex subject. It is easier to share what strategy is not then what it actually is. Almost all the Business Schools in the world teach this subject and have often used their own convenient definitions. Majority of them, including Harvard Business School and Sloan are in fact most of the time addressing Business Strategy. Depending on the subject matter, there is Marketing Strategy, Pricing Strategy, Customer Relation Management Strategy, Operations Strategy, Financial Strategy and so forth. The tendency at the Business Schools is to provide practitioners a set of methodologies and techniques that can be quickly applied in the market place. They became very uncomfortable if there is no meat or specific way to strategize. All this is well and good for the short run but academics often ask what sets apart Strategy for other Operational Strategies or Plans. Here we could borrow some ideas from the military which defines ultimate Strategy as Grand Strategy and the rest as military Strategy, operations and tactics. The focus of my discussion is there going to focus on the grand strategy of corporations or small and medium enterprises.
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Strategy is not a plan and even if you insist in calling it a plan, it is not static. It is not a methodology. It is not a checklist. It is not a set of goals or objectives. It is not about always winning. It is not reviewed once a year or once every three years.
Strategy or Grand Strategy is a way of thinking. It is about thinking through all options and making timely decisions. It is dynamic and changes as often as the strategic situation changes. It is a secret and it should have awe. It strives to minimize risks and maximize outcomes while always maintaining the initiative. It embraces critical concepts such as time, timing, focus, initiative, options, anticipation, adaptation and analysis.
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