Fundametals of Strategic Focus
Taking Inventory
-Identify mission, strengths and weakness
- Define project acceptance criteria
Mission: A broad, directional aispiration that defines what an individual or group wants to accomplish.
- Academia: an exceptional long-term research project that might have a dramatic impact to the world.
- Entrepreneur/Startup: Identification of a solution that is readily achievable and profitable in the near term.
- Large coportation: Driving incremental improvement or longer-term investment to stay ahead of competitors.
Strengths and Weakness
- Evaluate what individual/group does well and how to capitalize it.
- Consider where less experienced, competent, or confident and how to compensate for these.
- Collaborating with others offering different, complimentary skill sets.
Acceptance Criterias
Common criteria to evaluate and determine an area of strategic focus as opportunities
- Fit with individual/group’s capabilities
- Effect / outcomes / impact
- Time required to achieve the target
- The resource requirement
- The customers who need to be cultivated
- The revenue tarkets required
- The anticipated growth of the market
- Dynamics of the market / number and type of competitors
Example Acceptance Criteria for a Medtch Startup
- Has a potential market of U$1B of more
- Attractive enought to getting funding from investors
- Significant impact on quality of life of patients
- A platform technology that can rapidly leveraged to implement in other practice area
- Not a patient segment where head-to-head competition with entrenched companies
Aticulating Strategic Focus
- Explore different practice areas till one that meets the acceptance criteria will emerge
- Define the project’s scope (breadth of opportunity) and focus (point of purpose)
- Examples of scope: “Well-defined market” vs. “Sleepier areas”
- Personal interest or passion is certainly a valid reason for defining the scope.
- Regardless of passion, practive areas should be considered against the acceptance criteria, including team’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as business opportunity.
