Live the strategy
Once you’ve built the team and the strategy, you need to continually revisit the groundwork you’ve laid, making course corrections and adjustments as necessary.
Auen says a strategy needs to be a living document that grows and morphs with your company and the needs of the markets you serve.
Whether you re-examine it every month, every quarter or intermittently throughout the year, regular strategic checkups are the key to keeping your strategy current and your people in tune with it as conditions change.
“You need to be talking to people all the time,” Auen says. “You need to be talking to your consultants in the field, customers, competitors, your sales team, your account management team. Everyone who is out there, you need to be talking to them all the time, listening to them and collecting data.
“It’s very easy to become internally focused, so you always need to recreate this sense of what the market is telling you. Because the market will tell you what is going on, what you need to do, and you have to make sure that monthly or quarterly everyone is listening and helping to re-evaluate your plans to figure out where you want to go.”
How to reach: PMSI, (877) 275-7674 or www.pmsionline.com
