After taking a summer vacation we all feel refreshed and ready to implement new ideas into our businesses… or do we?
Whilst taking a break from the usual hectic business diary I was able to dedicate some time to fresh thinking. After visiting one of the worlds top Modern Art galleries it struck me that an interesting subject area is creativity and I began to wonder how this applies to the process of strategy development.
I have always found strategic planning to be very analytical… gathering data on the company, competitors, markets, etc in order to define company strengths and weaknesses, and develop opportunity areas and highlight threats. But in being analytical are we missing something? Do we “look outside the box” and see what we can learn from other industries? Are there new business models emerging that can be applied to give us a competitive edge? What can we learn from latest business school research? How do we move one-step ahead of our competitors?
How do you capture creativity in your strategy process?
The Big Business Issue... 
All too often business owners and business professionals become too focused on their industry and are oblivious to developments elsewhere.
Whilst a business may be the expert in the way of things in ‘the old world’, ‘new orders’ are continuously emerging that surpass what has gone before. A willingness to benchmark and transfer the new skills across industries/sectors should be a norm but it is still a long time coming.
Dave
http://www.dawconsulting.co.uk