{"id":24297,"date":"2021-08-23T15:40:09","date_gmt":"2021-08-23T04:40:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/creately.com\/blog\/?p=24297"},"modified":"2023-01-05T19:38:59","modified_gmt":"2023-01-05T08:38:59","slug":"how-to-achieve-strategic-alignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/creately.com\/blog\/strategy-and-planning\/how-to-achieve-strategic-alignment\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Achieve Strategic Alignment to Improve Business Performance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why do many businesses easily succeed, while many more struggle to survive and eventually fail? A key reason is strategic alignment, or lack thereof. While the best-aligned organizations perform the best, those that aren\u2019t, flounder because they fail to make better forward-looking decisions and change along with the increasingly complex world they operate in.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many organizations focus only on challenges existing in the external environment during strategic planning, although the key reason many of them fail is their inability to focus on internal obstacles. In order to achieve positive strategic alignment, an organization must address both internal and external obstacles effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post explores how strategic alignment can be developed, implemented, and sustained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Strategic Alignment? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Strategic alignment is the prudent arrangement of the various internal and external elements of an organization – from its business strategy to its organizational structure – to best support the achievement of its long-term goals and purpose.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It requires all stakeholders, both internal and external, to be aligned on and be committed to achieving one goal, or in other words, the vision of the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A pervasive assumption in strategy literature is that a strategy\u2019s appropriateness can be defined in terms of its alignment with the internal and external contingencies. The strategy should be matched with the external threats and opportunities in the business environment, but it should also be in compliance with the organization\u2019s internal processes and structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strategic alignment is inherently a dynamic process. As the strategic choices made by an organization typically influence the counteractions of its competitors (in the form of imitations or more innovations), it necessitates that the organization responds to them in a timely manner. Thus, although the purpose of the organization remains the same, its strategic alignment may shift from time to time, making it a process of continuous adaptation and change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importance of Strategic alignment<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Organizations that are well-aligned are able to generate better results because their people and teams are working towards achieving common strategic goals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizations that are not strategically aligned often are confused about what to prioritize, make fewer effective decisions, and face far more conflicts. This may leave employees unmotivated and disappointed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why maintaining strategic alignment is important. In addition to helping inform people who develop products and services, direct marketing and sales efforts, and allocate resources properly and establish best practices throughout the organization, strategic alignment also helps; <\/p>\n\n\n\n