{"id":27645,"date":"2018-12-28T17:34:46","date_gmt":"2018-12-28T23:34:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salesv4.aligntoday.com\/blog\/how-to-prioritize-strategy-in-alignment-and-grow-your-business-in-2019\/"},"modified":"2018-12-28T17:34:46","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T23:34:46","slug":"how-to-prioritize-strategy-in-alignment-and-grow-your-business-in-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aligntoday.com\/blog\/how-to-prioritize-strategy-in-alignment-and-grow-your-business-in-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Prioritize Strategy in Alignment and Grow Your Business in 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Every great business starts with a purpose-driven strategy. Amazon, McDonald’s, Mac, Eggo Waffles all started with a unique idea and built a strategy around their idea to capitalize on their uniqueness in ways that no one else had yet. <\/span><\/p>\n

As an executive, you’re aware of the importance of having a concrete purpose, and a strategy built around that purpose to determine your markets of competition, your target consumer base and how your company differentiates. But to get ahead in 2019, you need to evaluate how you\u2019ve organized your business around this strategy and purpose.<\/span><\/p>\n

As your company grows you add new employees, various business lines, new expectations from a larger band of customer groups and your brand crosses geographic thresholds. All that to say, as your company grows, alignment behind a single strategy becomes increasingly complex. And that can lead to inefficiency and derailment from target goals.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Get<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

In fact, in<\/span> a study conducted by Fierce, Inc.<\/span><\/a> 97% of employees and managers believe that misalignment within teams directly impacted the results of a given project and a larger goal. <\/span><\/p>\n

The need for strategy-first organizational alignment is not a new concept. In 1977, the Harvard Business School historian, Alfred Chandler published a foundation-altering book on strategic decision making in successful corporations. The book, <\/span>The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business<\/span><\/a>, pushed one central idea; \u201cUnless structure follows strategy, inefficiency results.\u201d Structure follows strategy, and as shifts in technology and markets alter a business strategy, its organization must follow suit. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Alignment Value Chain of Success<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Positioning the right people and aligning them behind a common strategic vision for a company may feel like an impossible task, but it is a key factor that separates successful companies from those that continue to miss the goals set as individuals, departments and the business quarter after quarter. <\/span><\/p>\n

Businesses look for every advantage to fulfill their purpose (the why behind what they do). To do so, they must hire the right people, train them to adopt the company\u2019s purpose and chart a course for personal success that also results in the company achieving their goals. <\/span>
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\n<\/span>Capturing purpose and strategy on paper is one thing, but educating, getting buy-in, and ultimately adoption by your entire staff (no matter the size) can be one significant feat. Not to mention tracking progress. <\/span><\/p>\n

In <\/span>a Harvard Business Review article<\/span><\/a>, Jonathan Trevor and Barry Varcoe write that alignment is maximized through a value chain that connects strategy. The value chain answers five questions:<\/span><\/p>\n