Having a strategy is one of the first things for a business. However, it is not just enough to have one. It will not make a difference to the returns of the company if it is not properly in sync with the objectives and goals of the company. It is therefore that experts in the field such as Michael Saltzstein suggest that the best way to make one’s business profitable is to align its strategies with the goals.
So, to put it simply strategic alignment is the act of organizing and arranging all the plans and strategies in alignment with the company’s goals and vision. Having well-aligned decisions is the reason behind well-aligned actions. This also means that one would eliminate certain practices that do not deem helpful for the business.
Studies reveal that about 80% of the performance of a business is enhanced with the inclusion of strategic alignment in its processes. To put it in a nutshell, the primary importance of strategic alignment is that it is a proven way of improvement in business. And the best part about it is that it can be done very easily. There is no need for any major retraining of employees or overhauling of the IT systems. All one needs to do is main the strategic goals the core of the processes.
The two most crucial things in setting the strategic goals, as would be agreed upon by Michael Saltzstein, an adept advisor on the subject, include the identification of the goal and then understanding their relative importance.
It is important to remember that strategic goals do not refer to any particular project that the company needs to undertake. Instead one should be clear that they are the activities that act as catalysts to achieve the company’s greater goals. Identifying these goals is easier when a close look at a particular project’s objectives is taken; a project that is an important and major one for the company.
The key performance indicators (KPI) are the other means of identifying towards which direction your strategic goals ought to be going, say veterans of the subject such as Michael Saltzstein. This often is a good way to eliminate some of the age-old practices that a business may have been following blindly over the years without even scrutinizing how beneficial that was to them presently.
Once the strategic goals are identified, one needs to prioritize them sequentially. It may not always be as easy as taking consulting the stakeholders and staff and ranking these goals. This is how researchers reveal that the analytical hierarchy process or AHS is the most efficient way to do it. It helps in structuring the discussion and conducts the group within the room to come to a consensus of some sort. AHS brings clarity to the thoughts of every relevant personnel’s ideas and above it materializes the strategic alignment for the organization.
Finally with the help of strategic planning one is able to realize the process of strategic alignment to the benefit of the company.
