statement of strategy

Concise Statement of Strategy -- Collis, 2008 provides a guide for a concise statement of strategy. In this case, the guide is augmented by Korn
A Statement of Strategy, identifies the three critical components of

• objective -- a definition of the ends that the strategy is intended to achieve. For a legitimate strategy, the objective is one that achieves performance consistent with a having a competitive advantage. Ideally it is a single goal that is specific, measurable, and time bound. Stress specificity and parsimony here, each statement will have copious annotations.
• scope -- scope, or domain, of the business: the part of the landscape in which the firm will operate. A firm's scope encompasses three dimensions: customer/offering, geographic location, and vertical integration. This is done to clarify both what to do and what not to do.
• advantage -- the essence of strategy: what your business organization will do differently than others that defines the means of achieving the objective. A complete definition of advantage consists of two parts: (1) a statement of the customer value proposition explaining why customers will buy your offering. What makes your offering distinctive from others. (2) a statement of the unique activities or the complex combination of activities allowing your firm alone to deliver the customer value proposition. The definition of the source of competitive advantage.

The statement itself is brief, typically one concise sentence for each of the critical components, but then augmented with detailed annotations that ""elucidate the strategy's nuances...and spell out its implications."" The Strategy Statement's most critical element is the statement of advantage with its two components -- a statement of customer value proposition and the unique activities allowing that firm alone to deliver the customer value proposition.

The process to prepare the statement, of course following the development of a great strategy, is rigorous and challenging. A concise, well thought out statement, provides guidance critical to the effective organizational pursuit of the strategy.

In the ""Hierarchy of Company Statements, Strategy fits as follows --

• Mission - Why we exist
• Values - What we believe in and how we behave
• Vision - What we want to be
• Strategy - What our competitive game plan will be; its ends, domain, and means.

See ""Components of Strategy"" and ""Fundamental Dimensions of Strategy"" in strategy.