Strategy can be defined as a means to achieve desired objectives of a firm. Managers are responsible of making the strategy for the organization and they wish to make good strategies as the outcome of the strategic planning process of the business. Therefore a manager needs to know the characteristics of a good strategy. Characteristics of a good strategy are summarized below:
Strategy should be a outcome of innovative and creative thinking. It should include a new/novel area which were not practices before. If the strategy does not include any novel aspect in it there is a high tendency that competitors will be already having detailed knowledge about the strategy employed. Therefore strategy should include a novel/creative aspect into to make it unique and differentiate from competitors.
Strategy should involve some confidential element in it which should only be known to the management of the organization. The secret element of the strategy will always keep the competitors curious about the strategy. When developing the strategy it is considered to be a confidential activity where the management team has to keep the business secrets and should not reveal.
Strategy should be design in a clever and smart manner. If the strategy fails to obtain this characteristic it will not be a strategy as only the smart strategies will be able to achieve desired objectives.
Strategy should involve a an element of the deceive and should be able to cheat the target audience in an ethical manner. When incorporating the deceiving element the care should be drawn not to go beyond the limits and cheat people in unethical manner.
The strategy should be able to break even and recover the investment/cost incurred. In other words, benefits received by the organization by executing the strategy has to be higher than the cost incurred in executing the strategy.
Note of Credits : This is article is based on a lecture done by Mr. Marlon Gunasekara at APIIT-Sri Lanka on Strategic Management on 14/12/2010
