How do we get it done? What’s our next move? Now that we know what we want and why we’re here, where do we begin? You’ve likely heard variations of these questions in your organization—particularly if you’re at any level of planning how to achieve favorable outcomes.

It’s one thing to know why you’re doing something, who you’re selling to, or even what makes your product or service better than the next guy’s. But until you can adequately and effectively answer how you’re going to do it, your idea, product, sales, or whatever you endeavor to achieve may not become all you hope for.

The biggest “how” you can ask begs for a coherent approach. It means building a distinct advantage toward a favorable end. This level of “how” is best answered with strategy.

Strategy exists to solve problems. More often than not, calling upon strategic planning means that your problem is big—significant, complex, and with higher-than-average stakes. That’s why we call upon strategy. It is the means to simplify and unify activity to get from your point A to point B with greater clarity, effectiveness, confidence, and efficiency.

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