Separating Strategy Can Greatly Help Your Business
Many companies fall into the habit of running without a distinct strategy for their business. That is a mistake. Strategy should not be boxed in by budgeting or planning. A…
Written by Spiegel & Utrera, P.A.
- Published
- December 13, 2016
- Updated
- August 11, 2026
Many companies fall into the habit of running without a distinct strategy for their business. That is a mistake. Strategy should not be boxed in by budgeting or planning. A plan is what you use to execute a strategy, so the two need to stay separate to do their jobs well.
Strategy Is Not the Same as a Plan
According to Forbes, a real strategy comes from making choices that answer a few fundamental questions about the business. In paraphrase, those questions come down to three things:
- Which businesses should we be in, and how do we add value to them?
- Who are our target customers, and what is our value proposition to them?
- What capabilities make us best at adding and delivering that value?
Those are strategy questions. Notice that none of them is answered by a budget line or a calendar date. A plan tells you what to do next week; a strategy tells you why you are in business at all.
Separate Strategy From the Calendar
Usually a company has many plans and very little strategy. One useful step is to separate strategy from plan formulation and from the calendar entirely. Strategy should not live or die by the fiscal quarter.
A current strategy is essential, because opportunities and the environment your business operates in can always shift. For that reason, your strategy has to be flexible enough to change as the business environment changes. A strategy locked in a drawer is worth little; one you revisit and adjust is what keeps you competitive.
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