Tom Laming, Client  Director, NZAB

If you are anything like most businesses – farming or otherwise – you will be hearing the word “strategy” a lot at the moment. Your Bank is probably looking for one, you might need one for your fertiliser company or to meet regulatory requirements, or you might just be wrestling with how to develop a strategy for your own family and business.

Whatever the circumstances, you may well be asking “where do I start?” What exactly is a strategy, what is the process to develop one and what should it look like once I’m done? And most importantly, why will a strategy benefit my business? Why should I get excited about the process?

From the biggest corporate on down, businesses through the generations have attempted to develop strategies that clearly capture the needs and aspirations of all key stakeholders – from the biggest shareholder to the family who own and operate the business.

Some become clearly defined. I have recently finished a book by Bob Iger, the current CEO of Disney. For context, Disney had revenue of nearly USD70 billion in 2019! His strategy for the business however was simple and was captured in only three key focuses – to increase the amount of branded content the company created, embrace and advance technology, and be a truly global player. Under his leadership Disney has doubled it’s revenue, and cemented a dominant position in the media landscape.