How do good strategists think about their business?

In the business world often times many people that are familiar with it pay very little to no attention to the way the industry that their in can affect the profitability and success of their company. This effect is most commonly known as the industry effect.
The industry effect is a myriad of intrinsic limitations and restraints present in an industry that can determine some to most of the profitability of a company.
Adjusting your strategy
When evaluating your strategy you must make sure that you: understand the competitive forces, counteract negative forces in the industry, and that you don’t underestimate the impact that these outside forces can have on the overall value of your business.

Being able to understand the competitors in your industry can help give you the upper-hand when it comes to innovation and as a result can help you differentiate your product from the rest of the ones that are already present in the industry.
Another important factor to keep in mind when changing your strategy is to implement a way to counter negative forces in the industry that can be considered a threat to your product and company as a whole. Some of these forces can be a sudden change in demand, or prices in the industry. It is very important to not leave these forces unaddressed as they can easily destroy your company while you decide to ignore them entirely until they goes away somehow.
Moreover, when modifying your strategy you must also comprehend what the author Cynthia A. Montgomery pointed out in her book named The Strategist; which seeks to demonstrate to its readers how to become a better business leader that will improve their own business through proactive change. Montgomery emphasizes that to be a good strategist you must “accept the things you cannot change, have the courage to change the things you can, and have the wisdom to know the difference” (Montgomery 36) between the two. In this world not all things are fixed and that is what is challenging about a business. You must understand how to not only start your voyage, but to also find a way to keep yourself afloat in the business world. In order to be successful in anything you do you always have to be willing to embrace change.
A good example of a business creating innovative change is mentioned in The Strategist. The methods that Cirque du Soleil’s used to create a new market for their unique circus type is explained in detail. It is pointed out that they wanted to continue to foster the culture that was surrounded around the animal acts that they provided for the children to experience, but they decided to curtail the amount of animal acts that they had in order to improve the financial status of the business. By cutting down on costs for animals, they had greatly improved their profit margin and had also decided to have an audience that mostly consisted of adults since they were the ones that would be willing to pay the money for the experience that the circus was trying to provide them with. This was one of many examples where innovative strategists have embraced change within their business and is has brought their business into a financially prosperous state.
What job position uses these skills?
A possible job description for this type of work in the business world would be a Business Analyst. A business analyst would work with stakeholders, addresses the business’ needs, and tailors a strategy around those concerns.
Essential Skill
A skill that you can apply to your everyday life is to always be aware of your circumstances and create an action plan to ameliorate your situation or to create a way to approach your situation in a more efficient and effective way.
I hope that this has given you a better idea of how you can improve you business and the way you approach challenges in the business world.
