We offer you the best strategy definition to protect you from the confusion caused by the many and varied definitions you will find on this subject.
The best definition of strategy: A strategy is a procedure or method taken by a manager to achieve one or more objectives. The strategy draws a general direction that all company’s components must follow to achieve its goals. The strategy works to coordinate between company departments and allocate and focus resources to achieve objectives.
Strategy is one of the essential topics in management, and the best approach to studying this topic is to start by its definition. This article explains the best definition of the strategy sufficiently. Let’s start.
💡 Helpful Statistics About Strategy: ● 67% of well-formulated strategies failed due to poor execution. (HBR) ● 48% of leaders spend less than a day on strategy each month. (HBS) ● 61% of executives feel they are not prepared for the strategic challenges. (HBR) ● 77% of successful companies translate their strategy into operational terms and evaluate it on a day-to- day basis. (Palladium) ● 98% of leaders think strategy implementation takes more time than strategy formulation. ● 42% of managers and 27% of employees get access to the strategic plan ● 95% of employees do not understand their organization's strategy ● 84% of all staff members are clear on their organization’s top priorities
Table of Contents
Benefits of the best definition of strategy
This definition has been called the best definition of strategy because it has many advantages. The following paragraphs will present the most important ones:
- This definition shows who is responsible for setting the strategy in the company, who is the manager and senior management of the company.
- This definition shows the goal of the strategy, which is to achieve future goals
- The definition explains the strategic approach to achieving goals, which is the organization and coordination between all parts of the company to achieve the goals.
- This definition also shows how the strategy helps make the best use of resources and focus them on achieving the organization’s or company’s goals.
The difference between strategy and strategic plan
Knowing the difference between these two terms is very important to explain the best definition of strategy. This is due to the confusion that often occurs between them.
The difference between strategy and strategic plan is that strategy is the general method and direction chosen by the company to achieve the objectives. In comparison, the strategic plan is a long-term plan resulting from transforming the strategy into specific action steps.
In simple words, strategy is the core of a strategic plan.
This confusion occurs because many sources use the word strategy, meaning the long-term plan and vice versa.
Explanation of the components of the best definition of stratagey
The following paragraphs detail the essential parts of the best definition of strategy:
First: Strategy is a procedure or method that a manager takes to achieve one or more goals
From the best definition of strategy, this paragraph shows that the manager or senior management is responsible for clarifying the company’s strategy.
It also shows that the objectives identified by the strategy’s vision ( one of the strategy’s stages) can not be achieved without enabling the company with the right strategy.
During its encounter in the market, the company faces many challenges, including competition, the lack of resources, and financing. To overcome these significant challenges, it must have a specific method and method that enables it to do so.
Second: Drawing a general direction, to be followed by all the components of the organization, to achieve the goals
The best definition of strategy in this paragraph shows that drawing the organization’s general direction is one of the most important functions of the strategy.
The general direction is like the rules, policies, and procedures the company must implement or be guided by in its various activities.
The company’s general direction is significant, as management cannot work in a vacuum, but it must work within a pre-ordained direction.
The following points show why a company’s general direction is important:
- Assists in the preparation of plans and various programs
- Work as guides in decisions making process.
- It is used to monitor and evaluate work within the company
Third: The strategy works on coordinating between company departments
A company or organization consists of several different parts, for example:
- Human Resources
- Production
- Marketing
- Customer Services
- Supply and Purchasing
- etc.
If there is no coordination between the company’s parts to serve a specific goal, these parts will work randomly and often in opposition. Refer to the Business Without a Strategy article for more information.
The strategy connects all these parts to work as one unit to serve a specific goal or objectives.
For more detail about this topic, refer to the Purpose of Strategy article.
Fourth: Concentrate resources within the organization to achieve goals
Resources are among the most critical assets of the company. If they are not preserved and not wasted, they will most likely lead to the collapse and bankruptcy of the company or organization.
All companies have limited resources and are under-resourced. Therefore, the strategy focuses on these resources to serve a specific goal and not waste them in other directions.
Examples of some other definitions of strategy
Strategy is a general plan to achieve one or more long-term or overall goals under conditions of uncertainty.
Strategy is an action that managers take to attain one or more of the organization’s goals. Strategy can also be defined as “A general direction set for the company and its various components to achieve a desired state in the future. Strategy results from the detailed strategic planning process”.
Conclusion
Studying the best definition of strategy prevents you from getting lost among the various definitions.
The best definition of strategy:
A strategy is a procedure or method taken by a manager to achieve one or more objectives. The strategy draws a general direction that all company’s components must follow to achieve its goals. The strategy works to coordinate between company departments and allocate and focus resources to achieve objectives.
This definition has been called the best definition of strategy because it has many advantages. The following paragraphs will present the most important ones:
- This definition shows who is responsible for setting the strategy in the company, who is the manager and senior management of the company.
- This definition shows the goal of the strategy, which is to achieve future goals
- The definition explains the strategic approach to achieving goals, which is the organization and coordination between all parts of the company to achieve the goals.
- This definition also shows how the strategy helps make the best use of resources and focus them on achieving the organization’s or company’s goals.