Principles for Strategy

To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.

But having a strategy is no guarantee of success. External factors are always changing and new information becomes available and the environment changes.

So what makes a successful strategy? Below are three principles that underlie a good strategy.

Keep it Simple

A good strategy will have a very simple objective at its core, that can be described in a single sentence and instantly understood, such as Steve Jobs’s ‘1000 songs in your pocket’ for the iPad. By having a clear centre, the strategy will be solidly grounded and anchored to this concept.

Be flexible

It’s a tricky balance to know when to stick to your guns and when to change tactics. But this is one of the most important skills you can have as a strategist, as no plans survive first contact intact. The strategy should have flexibility built into it, with some of the most likely changes in scenario accounted for.

Avoid assumptions

The biggest pitfall of strategies is making incorrect assumptions. When developing a strategy, you should question everything you think you know and make sure you get solid facts. Even better, make sure your strategy relies on as few assumptions as possible – that way it will be as strong as it can be. For more on this, look up ‘Occam’s Razor’.

Contact CS Investments for strategic consultancy service

Business Advice - What is a Unique Selling Point?

Once you get into business and start meeting other business people, you'll quickly find that you're asked about what you USP is.

USP stands for Unique Selling Point, or in other words, what is different about your business that will make people buy from you instead of your competitors.

The best businesses will really have a completely unique USP that their competitors can't imitate, meaning they corner a section of the market that simply can't go anywhere else.

However, it's more common that businesses will portray a unique selling point that isn't actually unique at all - but is perceived as so. The key to this is to be the first to do it, and / or to do it more convincingly than your competitors.

A genuine unique selling point may be a unique patented design, which nobody is allowed to copy for some time, or it maybe a family secret recipe or simply a particular location.

More common unique selling points might be price (though competing on price can be a dangerous game), quality or customer service - though obviously these are harder to prove and arguably not unique.

Some businesses come up with something completely original such as being the only ethical player in the industry, the only one to make the product completely out of soap or the only one to deliver a bunch of flowers with every order.

Read more about what it takes to be an entrepreneur on Chelsea Singh's site.