Enno Däneke
The concrete benefit of a good future strategy lies in several levels.
More security when thinking about the future
On the first level, a future strategy offers you more security. You will have a better feeling, a sense of security, when thinking about the future. Of course, you could now counter that you can’t buy anything from a feeling. This is correct in principle. However, with this security you also have much more clarity:
They know what assumptions their business is based on in the first place. They know what needs to happen in the future for their business to continue to function successfully. They are able to recognize early on if things are going differently. You will recognize earlier when you need to change yourself and your company and what threats your business might face.
Recognizing opportunities earlier
On the second level, a future strategy helps you to better identify opportunities.
You will discover a greater number of opportunities to develop yourself and your business as you systematically address these issues.
It’s just a matter of finding ways to move your business forward as you engage with new technologies. This will help you find ways your business can be more efficient and do more for your customers. You may also open up entirely new business models or customer groups.
A future strategy enables you to identify more opportunities by systematically addressing these issues and to take advantage of the most promising ones. For you, this primarily results in better investments and decisions.
Lead more efficiently and decide faster
A shared picture of the future will also help you and your team achieve greater efficiency and speed. It will be easier for you to work together, because they have decided together in which direction it should actually go. It is clear to everyone what the goals are.
Of course, you should always review the direction you have chosen and the steps you have taken; after all, you will inevitably learn as you go along. But the basic direction that you have set remains. You can use this as a guide.
Once your vision of the future is defined, each team member can question their own actions. Everyone can examine what really benefits to achieve the shared vision.
A future strategy thus helps you to make much faster decisions. It helps you prioritize projects and investments and basically gives you greater efficiency.
Future strategy enables flexibility and agility in day-to-day business
Companies today need to be flexible. Agility is required at all levels. At first glance, agility seems to contradict a long-term orientation and vision. In fact, however, a clear picture of the future is a prerequisite for agility to succeed. Otherwise, agility is often more of an excuse for chaos and opportunism. The lack of clear direction is masked under the guise of alleged agility. Ultimately, then, everyone in your company does what they want. Everything runs along and works somehow – or not. In the end, the result is more or less satisfactory.
But if you have a concrete goal, a mission, a purpose – you can call it whatever you like – then it will be easier for you to align all your activities with it. This also enables your teams to contribute in a self-organized and independent manner. Consequently, agility always needs a vision, a direction in which you want to go, and is thus in no way contradictory to long-term future strategy. The path to your long-term goal may well be multifaceted, may take loops and forks, but it needs a concrete destination. Otherwise, sooner or later you will go round in circles.
Follow these links as well:
► The Future Strategy Program for SMEs
► Free video crash course THE FUTURE OF YOUR BUSINESS
► BUSINESS WARGAMING for robust business and future opportunities
► KEYNOTES by Pero Mićić for your employees and customers
Have a bright future!
