A COMPLETE STRATEGIST

The word strategy is derived from the Greek and it relates to planning. By definition a strategy is a carefully devised plan of action to achieve a goal, or the art of developing or carrying out such a plan. Basically, strategy is a generalship, it is the art of war, literarily and figuratively; it is how an army or business is managed in a campaign and how troops are moved or disposed to impose on the enemy (in this case your competition) the place, time and condition for fighting preferred by oneself. The tactics employed to overcome, rise above and be the last man standing in any and every situation of competition. A strategic move or plan is that which is designed to organize the internal workings of your business in other to disorganize that of the competition and to put you ahead with the business environment.

Having said all the above a complete strategist can be said to be the general charged with planning moves and deploying actions that would enable the growth and success of any business. A complete strategist is one that can accomplish the impossible; he can see all parts of the business (including the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of the business). A complete strategist must be able to bring together all the parts of a business to make a whole and unique brand. He must be able to take an unfinished product and must also be able to see lapses and risks and make up what is needed in terms of solution or new possibilities to fill it up.

Bearing in mind that the duty of the strategist covers all the units of the business, he must therefore have skills that would serve as a bedrock for been a complete strategist. The skills listed below are some of the essentials that must be part of the daily life of a strategist.

• Good communication skills
• Ability to break down the strongest forces and to make it look easy
• Watchful and preparedness to meet any and all challenges
• Ability to be able to think on his feet
• The ability to be able to enter into the mind of and become the owner of an idea
• The ability to be able to create something out of nothing
• The ability to be able to see risks and proffer the right and suitable solution(s)
• The ability to carefully study and make plans
• Ability to generate tactics to be implemented for growth

The next question on your mind after reading all the skills above is probably, “where do I find such a person?” Well, I must honestly tell you that initially it occurred to me that getting a complete strategist might be a tall order. However, the one thing is that anyone that has an inbuilt gift for studying a situation and proffering solutions that work can be trained to become a strategist. In the business setting a complete strategist must be someone that understands in-depth the running and workability of a business and has been able to study all the units of the business. This in most cases is the staff with entrepreneurial skills, the managing director and management staff and in some cases, the business analyst.

This all begs the question, “are strategists dreamers?” the answer to that is no. A strategist cannot afford to be a dreamer; he must be a realist that bases his work on careful study, planning and implementation. He must be able to separate what will work from suppositions and baseless assumptions that cannot be proven to work.  A strategist must have tested his plans on the drawing board, verifying every move and combat actions to ensure that there is no room for penetration or infiltration from the competition. He must therefore be able to be one step ahead of the competition at all times.

When developing strategies, you must have an understanding of the competition and how he operates. Study him or his business well, know the strengths and weaknesses and build on it. Strategies are developed to meet mission statements and goals (short, medium and long termed) of any business. It is one of the major bases a business is built upon and a weak strategy means that the business would find it difficult to move to the next step.

A complete strategist must consider the economy, business environment (the market, the people, and the place) and the time. These three forms part of the needed matrix to developing a unique business strategy that would put a business ahead of its major competitor.

In all, a complete strategist does exist, maybe not many but you have them around you. How to know them?

• They never rush to do anything
• They are careful in their study and planning
• They are always positive but don’t work with false hopes
• They would tell you as is but gives you a ray of hope to go with it
• Among others!