How to Create Bolder Business Strategies

Try an Unconventional Approach to Create Bolder Business Strategies
Our organizational alignment research found that strategic clarity accounts for 31% of the difference between high and low performing organizations in terms of revenue growth, profitability, customer loyalty, leadership effectiveness, and employee engagement. Is your business strategy up to the challenges that you and your leadership team face? 

Because of the high stakes involved, leaders are often understandably reluctant to create bolder business strategies to drive growth, reduce costs, or fend off competitive pressures. But sometimes high stakes strategy retreat facilitation is necessary. 

The key is to have a growth mindset and to open your thinking to innovative ways of framing the key business assumptions and challenges. It’s a matter of stretching your mind’s habits to consider new and unanticipated possibilities.

3 Ways to Broaden Solution Possibilities
Don’t be afraid to “buck the system.” If you want to create bolder strategies, you need to be bolder in your quest to solve business problems. You need to open the door to dynamic prospects.

Here are three field-tested suggestions backed by our leadership simulation assessments for ways to move from the well-trod pattern of standard, traditional thinking to one that can offer new, and perhaps better, solutions to solve more complex and more urgent problems.

1. Pose Different Questions to Broaden Thinking
   We often seek to reduce a problem to a few basic elements because we sense that the smaller the scope of the problem, the more effective the solution. But why not try to enlarge the scope and broaden the set of options?
   
   Instead of asking “What do we expect to encounter,” why not ask “What do we not expect to find?” Or ask, “What if we eliminate at least one of our assumptions in order to clear the way for new paths to explore?” Or try “Let’s slow down and not rush to the easiest explanation.”
   
   Take your time and come at the problem with a variety of “sideways” questions.
   
2. Consider Different Points of View
   Give diverse perspectives a chance to suggest broader possibilities as your leadership team makes decisions. Especially if your leaders are a fairly homogeneous group, look for members of other constituencies like frontline managers, new employees, and dissatisfied customers. Their perspective will at the least be informative and at the most lead you in a surprisingly positive direction.
   
   The key is to ask difficult questions of those who likely disagree with you and listen carefully to what their perspective could teach you.  What would your competitors do?
   
3. Be Willing to Experiment on a Small Scale
   Certainly as you explore new strategic directions, you don’t want to throw out the proverbial baby with bath water. But perhaps you can try out an innovative solution in just one facet of your operation. That way you get to observe the effect of the bold strategy without too much risk.
   
   Prototyping is a great way to test various hypotheses for change.

The Bottom Line
Growth requires changes.  Change requires new ways of thinking.  Are you making sure that you do not overlook potential bold ideas that could help your enterprise grow in ways you never imagined?

To see if your strategy is set up for success, download our Research-backed Strategic Clarity Diagnostic