Every business must have a strategy for its operations in order that it may be able to realize its objectives easily. But for that these strategies need to be in absolute harmony with the objectives. It is therefore that experts in the field such as Michael Saltzstein suggest aligning its strategies with the goals as the Strategic Alignment best way to make one’s business profitable.
Simply put, the act of organizing and arranging all the plans and strategies in sync with the company’s goals and vision is known as strategic alignment. Having well-aligned decisions is the reason behind well-aligned actions. This would also mean that unnecessary practices within the realm of the business would have to be eradicated to avoid depreciation and confusion.
It has been found that with the inclusion of strategic alignment in its processes about 80% of the performance of a business is enhanced. In other words, the primary importance of strategic alignment is that it is a proven way of improvement in business that can be achieved very easily. If one has the strategic goals in place, there is no need for any major retraining of employees or overhauling of the IT systems.
The identification of the objectives of the company and the understanding of what importance the strategic goals have in the realization of these objectives constitute the two most crucial things in setting the strategic goals. Michael Saltzstein, a visionary leader in the subject, who spearheads the services of global risk and enterprise initiatives reinstates the significance of the two pillars of strategic alignment.
Strategic goals should not be mistaken to be some project that a company undertakes. Instead, they are the activities that in order to achieve the company’s greater goals act as catalysts. When a close look is taken at a particular project’s objectives it lends ease in identifying these goals; a project that is an important and major one for the company.
The key performance indicators (KPI) form the basis of getting a direction for the strategic goals are need to be planned, say veterans of the subject such as Michael Saltzstein. In the bid to align these strategies it is often noticed that some of the age-old practices that a business may have been following blindly over the years without even scrutinizing how beneficial that was to them presently are done away with.
The immediate plan of action after the identification of the strategic goals is to prioritize them sequentially. It may not always be as easy as consulting with the stakeholders and staff and ranking these goals. But this is how researchers reveal that the analytical hierarchy process or AHS can be done most efficiently. The discussions can easily be structured and a consensus is easily reached among those present in the meeting. AHS brings clarity to the thoughts of every relevant personnel’s ideas and above it materializes the strategic alignment for the organization.
It could finally be said that strategic planning is the key to realizing the process of strategic alignment for the benefit of the company.