266 Handbook of research on strategy process process (Giraudeau, 2008). It is recommended to consider the ‘laughter, frustration, anger, excitement, repetition and other detailed observations during the process (Jarzabkowski and Whittington, 2008, p. 283). In general, we have to be wary of the strategy ‘straight-jacket’ when it comes to strategy research and writings (Bettis, 1991), so I will attempt to be crea- tive in the strategy process and documentation thereof. The research also suggests a focus on the actual strategy tools used, and researchers are encouraged to employ much more of an ethnographic approach to observing and learning from practitioners. Both process and practice literature seem to understand that strategy involves a careful look within the organization, as well as outside, by referring to the direction of ‘macropraxis’ and ‘extra-organizational actors’ (Jarzabkowski and Spee, 2009). The final introductory theoretical concept on my radar screen for this exercise is ‘strategic communication’. I was particularly inspired by the recent piece in Harvard Business Review entitled ‘Can you say what your company’s strategy is?’ (Collis and Rukstad, 2008). The premise is that a goal of good strategy is to ensure that the majority of employees are able to articulate the essence of the business strategy in a few, easy to remem- ber and easy to share statements. The only way for this to happen is for it to be carefully developed and strategically communicated, over and over, and using no more than 35 words. I find that this concept strikes an initial chord of enthusiasm with executives I teach during strategy sessions but then gets lost as more and more people get involved with the strategy process. Eventually, the priority of strategy communication seems to become subjugated to other objectives and I truly believe this to be one of the most significant contributors to failed strategy efforts. So what does all of that mean for me as I approach this strategy project? After reflection on the guidance above, I have decided to implement three guiding principles as I go through this process. First, I will use the key concepts of strategy taught during a basic strategy class . For me, that means that the strategy process involves three distinct steps: (i) external analysis, (ii) internal analysis and (iii) strategy creation. While strategy is usually taught in this sequence, I found that my particular experience actually started with the internal analysis, rather than the external analy- sis. I felt that I had to get a sense of the current state of affairs related to the consulting program before venturing out to a competitive survey and customer analysis. And I had to get my arms around both the internal and external analysis before crafting my strategy. Application
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