When it comes to business strategy, there are three types that can be used, dependent on a range of factors that involve you, your team and your business.

The three strategies are:

1. General strategy
2. Corporate strategy
3. Competitive strategy.
   
   

Understanding which one is right for your team and business is king to building a strategy that flourishes and grows, ensuring that your business grows too.

The first strategy is general strategy. This strategy encompasses the overall game plan for how a company will achieve its goals. It includes both long-term and short-term plans and sets out the overall direction of the company. General strategy is the strategy that’s right for your team if you’re in a rapidly growing company or startup. This strategy focuses on growth and expansion, and is all about making sure your team can keep up with demand.

The second strategy is corporate strategy. This strategy focuses on how a company can best use its resources to achieve its goals. It takes into account the company’s strengths and weaknesses and looks for ways to create a competitive advantage. Corporate strategy is the strategy for established businesses who want to maintain their current market share. This strategy is more about efficiency and process, making sure your team is running as smoothly as possible.

The third strategy is competitive strategy. This strategy focuses on how a company can best compete in its market. It takes into account the competition, the market, and the customer. Competitive strategy is the strategy for businesses who want to gain market share from their competitors. This strategy is focused on marketing and promotion, making sure your team is visible and appealing to potential customers.

The right strategy for your team will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your team, the industry you’re in, and your company’s goals. There is no one-size-fits-all strategy, so it’s important to tailor your strategy to fit your team’s needs.

So, which strategy is right for your team and business? The answer is: it depends. Each strategy has its own advantages and disadvantages, so the best way to choose is to understand your team’s needs and objectives and then match them up with the right strategy. With the right strategy in place, your team will be well on its way to success.

There are a number of questions to ask of yourself and your team in order to determine the best strategy, including:

• What is our objective? What are the ends we seek?
• What is our current strategy, implicit or explicit?
• What courses of action might lead to the ends we seek?
• What are the means at our disposal?
• How are our actions restrained and constrained by the means at our disposal?
• What risks are involved and which ones are serious enough that we should plan for them?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a better understanding of your team’s needs and objectives. From there, you can match them up with the right strategy. With the right strategy in place, your team will be well on its way to success.

Understanding how to link your strategy to your vision and mission statements is also necessary to ensuring the strategy is successful. The strategy should support the vision and mission, not replace it.

And ensuring the team has buy-in and is comfortable with the direction of all three – strategy, vision statement and mission statement – will help the dynamic structures of your organization continue to move forward in almost continual improvement.

Strategy, after all, should be a living, breathing document that is revisited and refined as needed; this is the key to successful strategy.

Further breakdowns of the three types of strategies can be found here.