Strategist for Strategic management

What exactly is strategic management and who is a strategist and what does that mean to a layman today? Is it the particular utilisation of an organisations resources with the intention of reaching its objectives?

Strategic management encumbers setting of objectives by a strategist who determines competitors in the respective field, scrutinises the internal organisation, weighs the strategies against the acquired data and ensures and enables the top management to implement it. Often strategic management is used beyond conventional ways by a seasoned strategist to achieve organisational objectives and goals without chafing upon when there are changes in circumstances.

The five stages of strategic management are planning, analysis, strategy formulation, strategy implementation, and strategy monitoring. One person steers these different stages. There are typically four types of strategy and the strategist will determine the type that is to be incorporated. It could be at the corporate level, business level, functional level or at the operational level. The strategist will then determine which strategic management tools is needed to create the required frameworks. Will it be the SWOT analysis, Gap analysis, Porter's 5 forces, pestel analysis, Four Corners analysis. It could be any one or a collaboration of all. A seasoned strategist will format somewhat of a cocktail to suit the characteristics of the organisation or individual.

The notion of strategic management generates many schools of thoughts. Some would look at it as prescriptive whereby developed strategies are outline prior and others view it as descriptive whereby the focus is on how these strategies are executed. So is strategic management developed through an analytical process or is it more of a general guiding tool?

Strategic management is a dynamic process. It is constantly revolving, ongoing. It involves dynamic planning, reviewing internal structures, evaluating ongoing strategies, scrutinising policies, determining goals, developing plans. This just does not end. Every single description above is dynamic. For every strategic execution piling is done. Piling a foundation for every decision is strategic management. Strategic management is not a one man comedy show. It has to be team work. It requires a team to set objectives, analyse the actions of competitors and the most important and crushing part of strategic management is for team members to be prepared to accept critical analysis every step of the way.

Strategic management enumerates from the most simplistic management to the more complicated management. The execution of strategic management is by studying the project in liner. This study will enable a strategy that is adaptive and then interpreted to express a transcendental experience.

Strategic management is orchestrated by a trained strategist who will then construct a team. It is imperative that this team will involve the top management who is in liner thoughts with the strategist who studies the long-term issues that evolves as a result of new introduced strategies. This notion offers competitiveness buffered by future orientation. The exercise impacts long term implications as it affects current and future challenges for the organisation as a whole positively. The execution of strategic management is therefore very complex.

Strategic management does not only apply to managing an organisation. It covers a wide range of if not every aspect of human existence. It involves how one deals with their finances, wellbeing, assets, businesses, inheritance, along with others. Strategic management is therefore proactive rather than reactive. A strategist who is heading strategic management finds direction and grows a process of assessment, which is then evaluated and developed to identify new goals, and achieves objectives, that helps in sustaining and regain a competitive edge.

For individuals it creates a sense of direction for any area or aspect that strategic management is intended for. For organisations it increases operational efficiencies, bring excess value for market shares and profitability. For both it increases endurance and sustainability. There are abundance of case studies on how strategic management has successfully overcome challenges. How did this happen? The common denominator in them all is the well defined strategist who forms a robust strategic management team. This is a popular concept accepted by organisations both big and small.

My intent of this article today is to urge not just organisations to accept and implement strategic management but also individuals who need it for different aspects of their future planning. It certainly accelerates their goals and visions to remain competitive and survive all odds in the long run. Very often there is a huge confusion between strategic management and strategic planning. In this article it is imperative that the difference between strategic planning and strategic management is clearly defined.

Therefore in a nutshell, strategic management is the formulation, implementation, evaluation to improve strategies for an organisation’s long-term objectives. Strategic planning on the other hand involves the proposal and formulation of strategies to achieve an objective. Strategic planning helps optimise the operations by identifying existing problems. Strategic management focuses on producing strategic results while strategic planning focuses on optimal decision making. One is action oriented while the other is analytical.

For those who have read my previous articles where I wrote about the difference between strategy for a strategist with the background consisting of management for example strategic consultants, CEO, COO and; strategy for professional service providers you will understand that the advice that professional service providers implement in their service is strategic planning and not strategic management. The implementation of strategic management consist of goal planning, environmental scanning and analysis, strategy formulation. Strategic management is needed and crucial. They formulate the path to continuous success. They buffer business uncertainties.

Another area of interest in strategic management is the adaption of new technologies. Digital transformation is happening at a rapid pace. Even when adapted newer technologies replacement is almost eminent. The talent retention to monitor newer tech in constant. Successful adoption and utilisation of these newer technologies is imperative in strategic management. The other area to benefit organisations with strategic management is the fulfilment of corporate social responsibilities (CSR) which today is a requirement by law and an endorsement of a complete organisation.

In order for an organisation to maximise full benefits and to have full impact, senior professionals and top management in organisations need to allocate sufficient resources and make difficult choices that affects operations throughout the different departments.

Times are changing fast and there are dynamic changes happening every day. Industries and individuals worldwide are changing at an accelerated pace and hence survival is difficult for those companies or individuals who do not have a strong and perfect base in the industry.

A strategist ensures that a company has a thorough stand in the related industry and the expert also makes sure that the company is not just surviving on luck. When you look at various studies you would know that industries without proper strategic management will survive for not more than five years.

This suggests that companies should have a powerful focus on the longevity of the business. Therefore without strategic management, it is not possible for a companies to survive in the long run in today's competitive climate. It is necessary to beat the competition by keeping track of global trends.

Strategic management will work when the various resources such as workforce and logistics play their part because strategic management is in for long term in changing the business organisation and the individuals mental state.This change can come in different forms. It can be social, cultural, technological, legal, or economical.

This is the future, it requires solving potential complex uncertainties impacting every single aspect of life. With strategic management you get to select the most workable options based on projections and predictions captured by strategic management.