Why Is A Winning Operations Strategy So Important?

Executing on a winning operational strategy will help you gain a competitive edge, minimize costs, grow more sustainably and satisfy your customers consistently.

A well-designed operations strategy can help you gain a competitive edge by differentiating yourself from rivals. For example, low defect rates or rapid turnaround times can be prized features to clients with sizeable budgets.

"Strategy is a commodity, execution is an art." -Peter Drucker

Strong operating results can also translate to customer value which better helps you meet their needs and gains their loyalty. It can also form a basis for marketing campaigns and better word of mouth.

A winning operating strategy will also help you continuously improve. Once you have established critical operating metrics, controls and business practices, you're better able to monitor your performance and adjust quickly as problems arise.

How Will My Team And My Investors Benefit?

Repeatable processes create efficiency and they're more trainable for your staff. When your team feels that they're set up for success, you'll have better retention rates, which in turn will help you avoid the costs of turnover.

You'll also be better able to help your team set clearer goals and monitor their progress more closely. If your team is hitting their goals, they're more likely to please customers and more likely to achieve bonus targets.

A solid operating plan and sound execution on that plan will improve your brand and will lead to a pride of ownership by your workforce.

What Kind Of Operating Models Exist In The Market?

You'll ultimately have to design an operating model that suits your business. That said, I'm happy to elaborate on a few alternatives here:

1. Lean operations: focus on efficiency and minimizing waste
2. Digital operations: automate your customer experience and workflows
3. Global operations: site your manufacturing, talent and intellectual property in jurisdictions that have cost or tax advantages
4. Agile operations: your goal is flexibility and adaptability to respond to rapidly changing market conditions

Selecting the ideal operating model depends largely on your target clientele and value proposition to customers. Your strategy and operations must be aligned and integrated coherently.

‍

Unsure How To Develop A Winning Operations Strategy?

As management consultants focused on private companies, the Growth CFOs at BluePrint CPAs can help you. But even if you don't retain us for service, here are a few practical approaches.

Schedule operational reviews semi-annually

Undertaking an operational review is a sound approach to determining what is going well and what is not. This typically involves direct yet safe discussions between senior leaders and front line workers on how the business can better serve customers.

Set clear goals for the next 6 month period

Know what it is that you want to get from your operating plan and clarify those goals in a clear, measurable format.

Survey your customers and employees

Obtain feedback from your key accounts and internal teams to ensure that they're engaged in the goal-setting process. They have valuable feedback on key success factors.

Select technologies that help you meet your goals

Streamline your processes by eliminating manual tasks and inserting automated controls whenever possible. Artificial intelligence, IoT and blockchain are emerging rapidly as tools that are accessible to mid-sized businesses.

Establish a communication plan

Determine what is communicated, whether it's communicated to everyone or specific teams, the frequency of communication and an advance schedule to ensure you maximize attendance at meetings.

A winning Operations Strategy is a key component of your overall business strategy. Most entrepreneurs focus heavily on their go-to-market strategy, but you need to be equally as focused on your operations.