Aligning Requirements with Strategy

Depending on the client’s requirements, strategy design can be

1. client-consultant collaborative, in which both parties work together to formulate a vision that the consultant then researches and presents to the client as a set of options for their consideration;
2. designed entirely by the client, who commissions the consultant to analyse feasibility/costs and returns;
3. designed by the client, who commissions the consultant for full execution and delivery;
4. designed by the consultant for the client, who assesses the design and then, if they approve the strategy, commissions the consultant for full execution and delivery;
5. designed entirely by the consultant, who researches and presents to the client a set of strategies for their consideration or suggestion for modification. When the client approves a strategy or specifies modifications to one, they then commission the consultant for full execution and delivery;

In many cases, the hard work of the consultant begins at the strategy definition stage. A precise understanding of what the client requires in terms of long-range planning/strategy must be obtained. Clients may want to develop strategy with the assistance of a consultant, particularly if that consultant has experience with comparable businesses or familiarity with the strategy being examined. What is important for the consultant is important for the client, i.e. a full, nuanced, realistic appreciation of the complexities and rewards present in whatever proposals are being tabled. At some point, the client must commit to one strategy and it is the consultant’s job to ensure that the client is committing to the optimum choice. Hence, at this stage, the consultant’s work will involve the gathering of relevant data to assist the client in making that decision.