Strategy
consulting for orientation, focus and implementation
Strategy provides your organization with direction for decision-making: Where do you want to go? What are your priorities? And where do you focus your time, attention, and resources?
Depending on the starting point, strategy work begins with purpose, vision, and guiding principles, with developing a corporate or departmental strategy, or with the question of how an existing strategy can be effectively implemented in daily operations. Target systems and strategic management connect this direction with concrete goals and verifiable progress.
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services in the field of strategy
Purpose, Vision and Mission
Clarity about purpose, contribution, and direction creates shared orientation and provides a reliable framework for decisions and action.
Strategy Development
Good strategy creates direction and alignment. Relevant perspectives sharpen priorities and support clear decisions.
Strategy Execution
Strategy becomes effective when people understand it, support it, and can translate it into concrete action.
Goal Systems and Performance Management
Appropriate goal-setting systems such as OKR or OGSM connect strategy, priorities, and progress and make joint steering easier.
STRATEGY CONNECTS DIRECTION, DECISIONS AND IMPLEMENTATION
Strategy refers to the conscious definition of a direction and the decisions with which an organization pursues its goals. It clarifies which developments are relevant, which priorities apply, and where time, budget, and attention are focused.
Strategy development clarifies the initial situation, evaluates strategic options, and leads to decisions about direction and priorities.
Strategy implementation translates these decisions into goals, initiatives, responsibilities, and concrete work.
Strategic management makes progress visible and creates regular opportunities to review assumptions and priorities. Goal systems such as OKRs or OGSM can provide a suitable framework for this.
Purpose and vision give this work a longer-term reference point. At the same time, strategic decisions impact structures, roles, leadership, and collaboration. Our consulting approach demonstrates how we integrate different perspectives on strategy and organizational issues.
Success, ready when you are
Perhaps you’re facing a strategic decision, existing priorities are no longer effective, or implementation isn’t progressing as planned in your daily work. In 30 minutes, we’ll work together to assess your situation and determine which strategic question should be addressed first.
STRATEGY READINESS CHECK
Is your strategy ready for implementation? Do you have a strategy or are key strategic decisions pending? We’ll examine the direction, priorities, and core assumptions, and clarify where further refinement is needed.
STRATEGY EXECUTION CHECK
What’s hindering your strategy implementation? Your strategy is in place, but it’s not progressing as planned in day-to-day operations? We’ll examine priorities, responsibilities, decision-making processes, and management to pinpoint where implementation is currently stalled.
ADAPTIVE STRATEGY CHECK
How adaptable is your strategy? Are the circumstances changing faster than planned? We’ll examine which strategic assumptions you should review and where adjustments make sense without losing sight of your overall strategic direction.
When should a strategy be reviewed or further developed?
- Clear strategic decisions create focus and make priorities transparent.
- Purpose and vision provide guidance when evaluating different options.
- Perspectives from the market, customers, and the organization improve the basis for decision-making.
- Clearly defined responsibilities link strategic decisions with concrete implementation.
- Regular reviews incorporate new insights and enable targeted adjustments.
HOW STRATEGY BECOMES EFFECTIVE IN ORGANIZATIONS
Strategy becomes effective when direction and priorities are clarified and the organization can derive concrete decisions for its actions from them. How a strategy process is structured depends on the initial situation, the need for decisions, and the dynamics of the environment.
Clarifying the initial situation and decision-making questions
Strategic work begins with the questions that actually need to be decided. These include developments in markets, customers, and technologies, as well as the organization’s capabilities, structures, and existing priorities.
STRATEGIC DIRECTION AND PRIORITIES DECIDE
Strategic options reveal different paths and their consequences. Purpose and vision provide orientation. From this, decisions are made about which goals are pursued and which topics are prioritized.
INCLUDE RELEVANT PERSPECTIVES
Management, executives, departments, and employees have different perspectives on the strategic situation. A clearly structured strategy process brings together the perspectives needed for sound decisions.
IMPLEMENTATION AND COMMUNICATION THINKING ALONG
Strategic decisions need to be linked to goals, initiatives, roles, and responsibilities. Strategic communication makes direction, priorities, and consequences transparent and creates a common foundation for implementation.
CONTROL, LEARN AND ADJUST
Strategic assumptions can prove incomplete or outdated over time. Regular reviews make progress and new information visible. This allows you to review priorities and adjust your strategy where relevant conditions have changed.
Goal-setting systems like OKRs or OGSM can support this strategic management.
Reviews
cidpartners hat für uns ein modernes Führungskräfteentwicklungsprogramm gestaltet. Die Resonanz auf den gemeinsamen Entwicklungsprozess und das Programm sind ausgezeichnet. Was mir besonders gefällt, ist die Haltung: die Begleiter von cidpartners leben glaubwürdig das vor, was sie uns an aktuellen Ansätzen rund um Führung und Selbstorganisation vermitteln.
Die Entwicklung einer Performance Culture ist ein Meilenstein für LANXESS und Ausdruck des Veränderungswillens von Management und Mitarbeitern weltweit in der Neuausrichtung unseres Konzerns. cidpartners hat uns während der gesamten Phase der Entwicklung durch wertvolle inhaltliche Impulse und Denkanstöße begleitet. Kreative, hochprofessionelle Moderations- und Visualisierungstechniken anstelle PowerPoint und viele interaktive Elemente führten in den Projektmeetings zu greifbaren, schnell umsetzbaren Ergebnissen. Großes LIKE
Mit cidpartners haben wir bei einem großen, mehrjährigen IT-Change-Projekt einen hervorragenden Strategen und Umsetzer im Bereich Change-Kommunikation gehabt. Die immer sehr partnerschaftliche Zusammenarbeit entspricht meiner Vorstellung: fokussiert, transparent und zuverlässig.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is strategy consulting?
Strategy consulting helps organizations clarify strategic issues and make decisions about direction and priorities. Depending on the reason for the consultation, strategy consulting can include developing a strategy, its implementation and communication, or the design of strategic management.
What does strategy mean in an organization?
Strategy describes the direction an organization takes and the decisions it makes to pursue that direction. A strategy defines which goals and topics have priority and where time, budget, and attention are focused.
What is the difference between strategy development and strategy implementation?
Strategy development clarifies the initial situation, develops strategic options, and leads to decisions about direction and priorities. Strategy implementation translates these decisions into goals, initiatives, responsibilities, and concrete work within the organization.
How are purpose, vision, and strategy related?
Purpose describes what an organization fundamentally stands for and what contribution it wants to make. Vision describes a desired future state. Strategy defines which decisions and priorities the organization pursues to develop in that direction.
What is an adaptive strategy?
An adaptive strategy combines a clear strategic direction with regular review points. Key assumptions, priorities, and decisions are reviewed and adjusted based on new information when relevant conditions change.
When is an adaptive strategy appropriate?
An adaptive strategy is particularly useful when markets, technologies, customer needs, or other framework conditions are only partially predictable. Regular review points then help to decide which strategic priorities remain viable and where adjustments are necessary.
What role do OKRs and OGSM play in strategy work?
OKR and OGSM are approaches that organizations can use to structure strategic goals and manage their implementation. OKR works with Objectives and measurable Key Results. OGSM combines Objectives, Goals, Strategies, and Measures in a common management framework. Which approach is suitable depends on the strategy, the organization, and the desired management logic.
How are strategy and change related?
Strategy defines an organization’s direction and priorities. Change management shapes the transformations that arise from strategic decisions regarding structures, roles, working methods, or collaboration. Strategy and change are therefore particularly intertwined when a new strategic direction necessitates organizational changes.
What role does leadership play in strategy implementation?
Leadership connects strategic direction with decisions and actions in daily work. Leaders provide orientation regarding priorities, clarify responsibilities, and translate strategic decisions into the respective context of their departments and teams.
When is external strategy consulting advisable?
External strategy consulting can be beneficial when fundamental strategic decisions are pending, different perspectives or interests converge, or existing priorities need to be reviewed. An external perspective helps to clarify assumptions, categorize options, and prepare strategic decisions in a structured manner.