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At Elate, we have the opportunity to work with strategy and operations leaders at some of the fastest-growing companies today. From venture backed startups to publicly traded SaaS companies building new markets, we are fortunate enough to get a glimpse into growth at every stage of a business.
Regardless of company size or stage, one challenge we see across many of the companies we work with is how to go about Strategic Planning at a high growth company. We hear a variety of reasons for why high growth companies struggle with Strategic Planning. They often range from, 'We're just growing way too fast, and our planning process can't keep up' or even 'My leadership isn't bought into planning. It's too difficult to get them aligned on priorities'
Yet time and time again, we find that the most effective high growth companies we work with have not only embraced the idea of Strategic Planning, they view it as a catalyst for growth in how they continue to scale.
Fundamentally, we believe high growth Strategic Planning comes down to three things: People, Process, Tools. If you are able to find the right people that can build a process, then a solution can help maximize your efforts and turn Strategic Planning into a competitive advantage.
In working with high growth companies and leaders, we wanted to share why Strategic Planning is a critical part of success for any high growth company, and how by defining a business growth strategy you can help accelerate your overall market growth strategy and advantage.
From outlining some of the most common growth strategy frameworks we see at Elate to clearly defining growth strategy examples, this post should highlight the structure and benefits of implementing growth strategy in strategic management for your high growth company.
The Strategic Planning process and growth strategy framework for high growth companies needed a revolution. After decades of slow evolution of a process that was built for more traditional companies, strategic planning became more of a checkbox to be completed by executive teams to feel as though they were doing the proper diligence to set their teams up for success in the year to come.
However, for today's leading companies, going through the motions of simply applying old strategic planning best practices wasn't going to cut it.
Rather than succumb to the dated strategic planning process model, strategy and operations leaders at these leading companies realized that strategic planning could serve as an opportunity for growth. So instead of just continuing to go through the motions, strategy and operations leaders invested in implementing the people and processes needed to build, review, and execute their strategic plan.
Today, the process for building growth strategies has taken the form of operating frameworks designed to accommodate everything from a marketing growth strategy to growth strategy for product and engineering teams. The key is how these frameworks help create alignment across different initiatives and teams.
So when thinking through the question of 'what is a high-growth strategy?', start by thinking about how your strategy can work across teams and create alignment.
At Elate, we've seen four major operating frameworks gain popularity for high growth companies. Those operating frameworks consist of OKRs (Objectives and Key Results), EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System), 4DX (Four Disciplines of Execution), and the Balanced Scorecard. While each of these frameworks offers different advantages, it's important to understand that no operating framework is a one-size fits all model.
The reality is that with each growth strategy framework, you should be tailoring the model to your business needs. Further, the operating framework you implement today should look different in 12 months. The business growth strategy examples you prioritize as a team will evolve, as will the company itself. So why shouldn't your Strategic Planning and Operating Framework?
If you'd like to learn a bit more about which growth strategy framework might be best for your business, our team would love to share more on each growth strategy. But regardless of which operating framework you choose, let's walk through some of the growth strategy examples that can help your high growth company.
For many high growth companies, building a business growth plan example can be difficult. With a range of different departments, from sales and marketing to product and engineering, growth strategies with examples might not translate from one department to another.
However, one thing to keep in mind is that in building your growth strategy example to share with your teams is to keep it simple and consistent. You don't want to overburden them with building ultra complex goals or priorities, and you want to make the process for how you build strategic goals as lightweight and consistent as possible.
We recommend always having three key parts of building a growth goal:
Start with the Why: Have employees define why they are choosing to take on a certain objective or priority, and how it connects with the overall vision for the company.
How will it be measured: Try to eliminate as much ambiguity as possible. If you can't answer what the desired outcome or measurable result is for an objective, then the likelihood is you won't be able to truly understand whether it was a success or even completed.
What dependencies exist: Are there certain roadblocks or dependencies that are requirements for your objective coming to fruition? If these dependencies are either out of your control or not other objectives/tasks being tackled by another area of the business, then the likelihood is that you might be setting yourself up for failure.
In outlining those three questions you will help your team build growth strategy examples that are relevant to your business and your company's strategic plan.
As many high growth companies evaluate implementing a high growth Strategic Planning framework, one common question is whether to invest in growth strategy consulting. For many companies, having an outside perspective to shed light into areas of improvement or help press-in on difficult conversations can be a valuable resource.
However, for many high growth companies, a well-equipped strategy and operations leader can also serve as a catalyst for driving important conversations around your Strategic Planning process.
At Elate, we've found that when armed with the proper solution to help drive intentional conversation on company priorities, strategy and operations leaders can step into this position to serve as voice in the Strategic Planning process. For many strategy and operations leaders, especially those in the Chief of Staff position, filling this role comes naturally.
For example, many leaders in the Chief of Staff position are already tasked with working across multiple departments, taking on initiatives that span all areas of the business, and even serving as the individual tasked with being an integrative growth strategy leader.
But for those Chiefs of Staff potentially serving in the role for the first time or inexperienced in the Strategic Planning process, we're here to help.
With Elate, the Chief of Staff or strategy and operations leader tasked with owning the strategic planning process can roll out a lightweight growth strategy template designed to create consistency in how your team proposes, reviews, and finalizes your company's strategic plan.
Rather than bringing in a consultant or using a static, outdated business growth strategies PDF, we recommend looking at a solution like Elate that has an intuitive, easy framework for how your company can build your high growth strategic plan.
Without question, the importance of growth strategy for high growth companies has never been more of a competitive differentiator than it is today. With growth strategy serving as a catalyst for unlocking new opportunities across your business, it's imperative that strategy and operations leaders have a solution that helps facilitate and guide the Strategic Planning process and cadence for your company.
As the leader in implementing growth strategies in strategic management, Elate was designed by the modern strategy and operations leader for the modern strategy and operations leader.
Elate is the leading Strategic Planning software built to help high growth companies communicate their vision, create alignment, and track performance all in one place.
Whether you're a Chief of Staff, COO, or VP of Operations looking to implement a high growth strategy for your company, Elate can help unlock the long-term vision for your company.
If you're interested in learning how Elate is serving leading strategy and operations professionals across the globe, reach out to our team today. We'd love to connect!
