Like benefits propositions, strategic objectives are powerful for tools for program execution; and they are essential for accomplishing strategic initiatives. Here is a template for writing a strategic objective:

The strategic objective is to ____ [insert an ADVICE verb] _____ [insert a business driver].

A.D.V.I.C.E.

ADVICE is another of my clever and memorable acronyms, in this case gives you six possible ways to characterize business drivers for quality (present or not) or directional improvement (increase or decrease).  The exhibit below lists the six ADVICE verbs.

Of course there are a number of other verbs that are common: bigger, quicker, faster, & recognize. They just don’t fit the acronym and that is a limitation of the acronym.

Business Drivers

Business drivers are those elements of the business model that play an important role in fulfilling the organization’s value proposition. As I wrote in an earlier article, A Guide to the Three Types of Strategy and Business Model Scope, there 8 elements that drive the organization’s value proposition are:

Revenue streams, cost structure, key partnerships, key activities, key resources, customer relationships, customer segments, channels

More specifically, consider this list of possible business drivers in combination with the ADVICE verbs:

Productivity, cost, quality, customer satisfaction, regulatory compliance, lender relationships, speed to market, brand value, idea management, project delivery,resource utilization, service

If you have a good understanding of your business model, you should have no problem identifying and prioritizing business drivers.

Examples

Here are two examples of strategic objectives connected to business drivers,

Google’s  “Save the News” Initiative – To establish a Google-based platform that allows partners to deliver news content in a way that is consistent with the partner’s business model.

Disney’s “Destination Disney” Initiative – To improve Disney visitors’ experiences and create more opportunities for incremental revenue enhancement and customer loyalty.

Benefits Connect the Stakeholders Duty and Strategic Objectives

In Part 1 and 2 of this series, I explained that each internal stakeholder is concerned about accomplishing their role within the organization.   Stated simply, their job is a duty (an obligation) and each person takes pride in do their job well. You can modify the above template as follows,

The stakeholder’s duty is to ____ [insert an ADVICE verb] _____ [insert a business driver].

Here are some examples of the template for the CFO, CIO, Treasury Manager positions described in Part 1.

The CFO has a duty to enhance organizational controls to satisfy each bank’s lending requirements.

The CIO has a duty to deliver IT and MIS services.

The Treasury Manager has a duty enhance global management of cash.

In future articles on the role of benefits development, I will reveal more about using benefits propositions to motivate stakeholders, how to create benefits maps, and the overall structuring of the strategic initiative as a program.

How might you use this strategic objectives template?

Related articles

• Use the As-Is-&-To-Be Table to Clarify Strategic Initiative Vision (leadingstrategicinitiatives.wordpress.com)