Question

What do you personally believe that businesses and other participants in economic markets should do in order to make a positive contribution to society? Why? From a societal perspective, how can we distinguish between "good" strategy and "bad" strategy? Can you give some specific examples of each?

Answer 1

Social responsibility and sustainability are qualities that appeal for any approach to a whole new customer segment. When entering customer sets when different cultures around the world, these features are extremely important, and more discerning consumers in every geography. Sustainability and social responsibility are ways to increase the exclusivity and added value, thereby reducing risk, increasing productivity and justifying a premium price. This is seen as a benefit by all stakeholders, encouraging new buyers and improving the company value.

Many Millennials and consumers of all ages these days strongly believe that all companies must be socially responsible, making it a key criterion for choosing a source of solution. It's a message that you can use both indirectly and directly in your brand positioning and marketing. Patronizing social projects and giving staff time to pursue their own initiatives creates engagement, pride and encouragement among team members and different organizations within the company. This makes everybody more active, sensitive and efficient in the business.

The essence of strategic research is always the same: to discover the critical factors in a situation and to devise a way to plan and organize efforts to resolve those factors. A good strategy is more than encouraging us to follow an objective or dream. A good strategy genuinely understands and offers a solution to addressing the obstacles that threaten it. A good strategy requires a consistent set of actions. These are not specifics of "implementation;" these are the punch of the plan. A critical component is lacking from a plan that does not identify a set of realistic and practicable immediate actions.

Bad strategy on targets is long, and policy or action is short. This means that all you need is goals. It sets incoherent and sometimes entirely impracticable strategic goals. This uses high-sounding words and phrases to conceal these shortcomings. A characteristic of genuine knowledge and experience makes understandable a complex subject. An excessive confusion is a sign of mediocrity and bad strategy— a whirlwind of fluff that hides an absence of substance.