When is the best time to set strategy
The new year often brings with it a new strategic planning cycle. However, the calendar year or financial year aren't necessarily the best time to set a strategy. Using these milestones implies that strategy can be managed against the calendar, or that strategy needs to be updated in alignment with the calendar. While this is better than never setting or refreshing strategy, strategy is best set when is it needed.
So when should we set strategy?
When something shifts in your context
A critical part of good strategy is an adequate diagnosis of the context for our strategy. This includes understanding the barriers that you need to overcome, the opportunities you can leverage and the resources you can deploy in pursuing our strategy. When any part of this context changes, that is a signal that to refresh your strategy.
When you achieve or change a goal
When you achieve the goal we were pursuing, or decide to abandon it for a new goal, you need to refresh your strategy. The goal you are pursuing will define what matters in your context, and what coherent steps will get you where you want to go. When that direction changes, it's a good time to reassess the diagnosis and update the strategy.
When your team or resources change
A change in your team or resources is one of the most frequent reasons to refresh a strategy. Most teams experience frequent change, either as a result of a large shift such as a restructure or budget change, or a smaller shift such as a key team member moving on. Each change represent a shift in the resources available to achieve your strategy. Therefore, it's prudent to review the strategy to check it's still viable and coherent given the people, funds and other resources available.
When your current strategy is proven ineffective
Strategy is a well-educated guess about what actions and policies will help achieve your goals. Therefore, you must monitor progress towards your goals to determine if your strategy is effective. Many tools exist to enable this monitoring, such as KPIs, OKRs, and so on. As an effective leaders, you should also use your intuition and professional insight to determine if a strategy is working. When your metrics and your professional assessment show the strategy is not effective, that is a great time to review your strategy.
When there is no strategy
All of the above assumes your team had a strategy in place. However, many teams might be going into the new year without a strategy. This might be because they are newly formed, or the previous manager didn't see a need for one, or because you are seeking to take a new approach with your team this year. In which case, now is a great time to set a strategy.
How to set or refresh a strategy
If you're looking for an approach to setting a strategy designed for functional teams that involves your team members, check out the Challenge-Based Strategy for Managers guide here.
