Blog Articles

Goals, objectives, KPIs, targets, initiatives and actions

How do you use goals, objectives, KPIs, targets and initiatives to ensure your strategy is action-oriented, gets done and delivers results?

The "Strategy House"

The "Strategy House" is a simple but effective way to summarise and communicate some key aspects of your strategy.

Examples of Strategy Canvases

The Strategy Canvas shows how an organisation can carve out a unique position in the market, free of the ravages of competition.

How to use StratNavApp.com

We hope you'll find StratNavApp.com easy to use. But if you need some help, you'll find it here.

Examples of PESTEL Analyses

Draw inspiration from examples of PESTEL Analyses for well-known organisations like Uber and Apple.

Our cookie and tracking policy

Learn more about our cookie and tracking policy.

Add content with the Bookmarklet

Easily link content you find on the web directly to insights and competitors in your StratNavApp.com strategy projects for better analysis, record-keeping and sharing with your teammates.

Doing strategic analysis with StratNavApp.com

Learn how to use StratNavApp.com to start your strategy from the basis of a sound strategic analysis.

StratChat 11 November 2020: Metaphors and Business Strategy

How do we use metaphors to help to make complex strategic ideas easier to understand?

StratChat 19 November 2020: Storytelling and business strategy

What does storytelling have to do with business strategy? It turns out: quite a lot!

Creating a Strategy Scorecard on StratNavApp.com

A Strategy Scorecard will help you to ensure that your business strategy is working as you execute it.

Corporate shared values

What are corporate values and how do they support your business strategy? Do you know what the 20 most common corporate values are?

Using the File Vault and SharePoint integration

Upload and/or link supporting documents, like research reports, and link them directly to your strategy content.

StratChat 27 August 2020: Business Model Canvas

What is the Business Model Canvas? What are some variations of it? And what are they used for?

Create high-quality strategy plans in Microsoft Word

Select which components of your strategy plan to export to a beautifully formatted Microsoft Word document which you can then email, print or archive.

The current state of business strategy development and execution

See the results of our survey on the current state of business strategy development and execution.

Setting your strategic direction with StratNavApp.com

Learn how to map your strategy out using a vision and mission statement, values, goals, objectives, KPIs and targets. Cross-check these against your analysis and implementation plans, and track progress using a scorecard.

Formatted text entry

Learn how to format the detailed content in your strategy.

Turning your strategy into action

Planning your strategy execution with StratNavApp.

Working with StratML in StratNavApp.com

The four ways of working with StratML in StratNavApp.com

Automate your strategy with StratNavApp.com's APIs

The StratNavApp.com APIs allow you to connect your other systems to read and write data to and from StratNavApp.com

StratChat 5 November 2020: Creativity in Business Strategy

It's hard to differentiate yourself without coming up with a new and novel strategy. But just how do you go about doing this?

The Business Model Canvas

The Business Model Canvas can help you to design a new business model for a startup, or provide a solid base for analysing and improving the business model and strategy for an existing business.

Calendar integration

Whether you use Microsoft Outlook, Google Calendar, or any other calendar programme, you have options to sync this with StratNavApp.com.

Working with scenarios

No-one can predict the future. But you can use StratNavApp.com to anticipate multiple plausible futures and build your strategy around them.

We love your feedback

Our commitment to your feedback.

StratChat 10 September 2020: Design Thinking and Business Strategy

What is Design Thinking and how does it relate to Business Strategy?

Personal Calendar and Personal Actions

Each project in StratNavApp.com contains its own Calendar and Actions list. If you're involved in more than one project, the Personal Calendar and Personal Actions will help you stay up to speed across them all.

The Balanced Scorecard

StratNavApp.com uses the balanced scorecard as a framework for organising goals that highlights their different natures and the relationships between them.

Introducing the Strategy Board

The Strategy Board provides the basic framework on which every strategy is built. It brings together all four phases of the strategy development and execution cycle.

How to customise your Microsoft Word reports

How to customise your Microsoft Word reports to match your brand or to include boilerplate text.

StratChat 1 October 2020: Antifragile business strategies

How do we develop and execute business strategies in times of extreme uncertainty? Can we build organisations that are not only resilient in the event of a crisis but actually strengthened by it?

eBook - Strategic Learning

Get the most out of StratNavApp.com by downloading and reading the free companion eBook.

StratChat 15 October 2020: The impact of the environment

The world is changing faster than ever before. Business strategy, along with long-term planning, belongs in a more stable past in which things changed more slowly. Or does it?

StratChat 11 Feb 2021: Operating Models

What is an operating model and what role does it play in business strategy?

StratChat 8 October 2020: Efficiency and business strategy

Does efficiency undermine organisational resilience? Is it even anathema to strategy? Or are there some tricks we might be missing? Join us as we discuss the relationship between efficiency and business strategy.

How to do PESTEL Analysis

How to do a PESTEL analysis, including what to consider in each of the 6 domains.

Mission and Vision Statements

Great strategies start with a compelling mission, a clear and inspiring vision, or both. Learn more.

Strategy is a collaborative exercise

Share your StratNavApp.com projects with your team for greater collaboration and better results.

StratChat 3 September 2020: Why strategies don't get executed

Sometimes, even the most well-formulated business strategies don't get executed. What are some of the main causes of this?

Working with Insights and Insight-based models

Learn how Insights work behind the scenes to make the SWOT, McKinsey 7S, Porter 5 Forces and PESTEL models work.

The StratNavApp Meta-Model

Understand the key entities and relationships underlying the StratNavApp.com application. Learn to build strategies that integrate from analysis all the way to execution.

What is StratNavApp and why should you use it?

StratNavApp.com is the collaborative tool for business strategy development and execution. Start improving your strategic decision making today.

StratChat 24 September 2020: The fractal nature of business strategy

What does business strategy have to do with those curious fractal images? Join us to find out.

StratChat 20 August: KPIs

Why they are so important, and why they are so hard?

The Enhanced Business Model Canvas

The Enhanced Business Model Canvas is an alternative version of the Business Model Canvas which places greater emphasis on the operating model elements.

Using the Gantt chart view

The Gantt chart view shows a familiar timeline of your strategic initiatives.

StratChat 7 January 2021: The Commander's Intent

The Commander's Intent is part of US Marine Corps doctrine. What can it teach us about business strategy?

Ensure your grammar and spelling are spot on

Integrate Grammarly into StratNavApp.com to ensure your grammar and spelling are spot on and your strategy is communicated clearly.

Get ready for business planning season

Use StratNavApp.com to ensure your strategy is crystal clear, compelling and up-to-date before starting to prepare your business plans for next year.

Using Meetings

In most organisations, meetings play an important role in developing and executing strategy. So, naturally, you can manage them right here in StratNavApp.com.

Gmail and G Suite email Integration

Gmail or G Suite users can send a search for emails to or from Person stakeholders directly from StratNavApp.com.

How to link a competitor to a competitor category

How to link a competitor/organisation to a competitor category / generic group.

Adding Stakeholders to your Plan

How to add Stakeholders to your plan to ensure accountabilities are clear and can be managed.

Jobs-to-be-Done

What is Jobs-to-be-done, what do you use it for and where can you capture it in StratNavApp.com?

StratChat 26 November 2020: Evidence

Strategies without evidence are just wishful thinking. Join us as we get to the bottom of the role of evidence in business strategy.

Updated Terms and Conditions and new Privacy Statement

We've updated our terms and conditions and added a privacy statement, to coincide with the introduction of the GDPR.

Create a committee

Learn how to create a committee involved in the development and/or execution of your strategy

Adding meetings to your calendar

Plan strategy meeting and agendas in StratNavApp.com. Then add them to your regular calendar at the click of a button.

StratChat 14 December 2021: Transparency in Business Strategy

Strategy process are often shrouded in secrecy. This doesn't always sit well with liberal values and what we understand about how to engage people and build trust. But just how transparent should we be?

StratChat 3 December 2020 Fake News and Fallacies

Strategies rely on evidence. But evidence can easily go wrong. We talked about some common mistakes people make, what causes them, and what you can do about it.

When and how we email you

How we use email, and how you can control what you get.

StratChat 13 August 2020: "Business Strategy in a time of Crisis"

An unattributed summary of our first StratChat virtual networking event for business strategists.

Personas

What are personas, what do you use them for and where can you capture them in StratNavApp.com?

Collaborating across time zones

How StratNavApp uses timezones. And how you can check, confirm or update yours.

StratChat 18 February 2021: Who is the customer?

Why do so many people find this basic question so hard to answer? We looked at some of the challenges.

Data Retention

Our policies for data retention.

Locked fields

Learn how StratNavApp.com prevents different users from overwriting each other's updates.

The Goal/Initiative Matrix

The Goal/Initiative Matrix shows which of your strategic initiatives support which of your strategic goals. It can be used for prioritising and spotting gaps.

Are your strategic insights insightful?

Strategic insights are a foundation of good strategy. But are yours insightful? Find out how to ensure they are.

StratChat 10 December 2020: Organisational Lifecycles

What are organisational lifecycles and how do they inform our approach to business strategy?

The RAID Log

The RAID Log lists all the Risks, Actions, Issues and Decisions you encounter in governing the development and/or execution of a strategy.

Formatting KPI number output

StratNavApp.com allows you to format numeric outputs of KPIs in a way that makes most sense to you and your colleagues/clients.

StratChat 21 January 2021: Scenario Planning

2020 was a year of unprecedented and unexpected change for most organisations. How do you plan in the face of such high levels of uncertainty? Scenario planning provides one answer.

Portfolio Analysis

What is portfolio analysis and how can you do it with StratNavApp.com?

The Initiative Status Report

The Initiative Status Report provides you with a quick summary of where you are with all of the initiatives in your strategy execution portfolio.

The disadvantages of using simple templates for business strategy

Most organisations manage their strategies using simple templates. However, there are many disadvantages to this approach.

Correlations between your Performance Indicator Results

How do the results for your Performance Indicators relate to each other? StratNavApp.com can calculate the pair-wise correlations of all of your Performance Indicator Results for you.

About Insights

Insights are a core unit of analysis and typically appear on the SWOT, McKinsey 7S, PESTEL and 5 Forces models and/or attached to other records in the system.

The Strategy Canvas

Practical tips on how to draw a Strategy Canvas as popularised in Blue Ocean Strategy to stop competing and start differentiating.

Working with processes

Processes are a fundamental building block of operating models, and therefore a key factor in strategy development and execution.

How StratNavApp.com's Autosave protects your work

Understand how StratNavApp.com ensures none of your work is lost, even if your connection goes down.

CRM integrations

Learn how to integrate your Person stakeholder records with your CRM.

Value Chain Analysis

Value Chain Analysis helps you to identify and analyse the processes by which an organisation creates value.

Creating and linking actions to other elements of your strategy

StratNavApp.com is a complete GTD solution for driving your strategies to success. Find out how to create and link or link existing actions to most areas of your strategy and track them through to completion.

Strategy drivers of business success

The strategy factor which most closely correlates with expectations of future business success is the establishment of clear accountabilities. What re the other factors? Read the Jan 2022 analysis of our Strategy Development and Execution Assessment survey results here.

Worked examples using StratNavApp.com

Links to worked examples using StratNavApp.com

Analysing Product and/or Service Portfolios

Understanding products and services, and product or service analysis models in StratNavApp.com.

Keeping your stakeholders in the loop

Keeping all of your stakeholders in the loop is vital. StratNavApp.com makes it a snap!

Groups (of stakeholders)

Groups are collections of people and/or organisations.

Searching StratNavApp.com

StratNavApp.com is fully searchable - both your projects and our articles

Date formats in StratNavApp.com

How to control your date formats in StratNavApp.com.

Competitors and Competitor Categories

Use StratNavApp.com to stay up to date on the competition

Types of evidence and where to find it

A business strategy based on clear evidence is more likely to be accepted, believed, supported and executed than one which is based on opinion and supposition.

Organisations

Organisations are an important element within StratNavApp.com. Learn more about them and their uses.

Using the McKinsey 7S Framework to assess strategic alignment, strengths and weaknesses

How to use the McKinsey 7S framework to assess strategic alignment, strengths and weaknesses. Includes specific questions to ask within each of the 7 Ses.

Understanding Competitive Factors

Understanding Competitive Factors is key to winning business. But what are they and how do you use them?

How to plan a strategy consulting engagement with StratNavApp.com

Learn how to use StratNavApp.com to get your strategy consulting projects off on the right footing.

The benefits of using StratNavApp.com

There are lots of ways to develop and execute business strategy. So why should you use StratNavApp.com?

7 strategies for surviving a recession and coming out even stronger

Recession is an inevitable phase of the economic cycle. With the right strategies, it can be an opportunity, not a burden.

The StratTech Revolution

How software will change the way we develop and execute business strategy.

A fitness tracker for your business

Business strategies often fade as fast as New Year's fitness goals. But there is a better way.

Planning for growth with Ansoff's Matrix

Ansoff's Matrix helps you understand and plan for different types of growth.

How to do a Porter 5-Forces analysis

Master industry competition with Porter's 5 Forces model. Analyze forces, strategies & stakeholders effectively. Explore its dynamics now!

The BCG Matrix

The Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix is a strategy analysis model which helps to understand and manage portfolios of businesses, products and/or services.

What is a SWOT analysis?

Everything you need to know about one of the most enduring and popular strategy frameworks.

Questions about you and how you use StratNavApp.com

Find out how and why we sometimes ask you questions about you and how you use the system.

#StratChat 12 January 2023: Mergers and Acquisitions

A summary of our #StratChat conversation about Mergers and Acquisitions.

Types of Strategy Meetings

What are the different types of strategy meetings and workshops, when should you use each one, and how can you ensure they are successful?

The RASCI framework

The RASCI framework allows you to categorise the roles stakeholders can plan on goals, initiatives and actions.

Do you need a second brain for business strategy?

StratNavApp.com is the perfect second brain for business strategy development and execution

StratNavApp.com browser bookmarklets

Use our handy bookmarklets to increase your productivity

The Value Proposition Canvas

What is the Value Proposition Canvas and how can you use it to document and explore what each customer segment needs and how your strategy gives it to them

Manage Stakeholders from LinkedIn with our Bookmarklet

Easily navigate to Stakeholder's pages, or create new ones, from their LinkedIn profile, and copy the profile pictures and LinkedIn IDs.

Downloading images

You can quickly download images of most strategy models and paste the images into emails, documents and presentations

Manage Stakeholders by email with our Bookmarklet

Link directly to your Stakeholders from your web-based email or CRM client

Pareto Analysis

Use Pareto Analysis to discover where the value comes from in a business.

Introduction to StratNavApp.com

This introductory video, aimed especially at startups, will introduce you to the platform and give you the confidence to try it for yourself.

The problem with books about strategy

There are many excellent books about strategy. They all have one problem.

Start your business with StratNavApp.com

Take your startup from initial idea to thriving business with StratNavApp.com

Using StratNavApp.com as your To-Do list

StratNavApp.com makes for a great To-Do list - ensure you're always focused on your strategic priorities

Mastering Strategic Growth: Where to Play and How to Win

Unlock the secrets of strategic growth with insights into choosing your playing field, crafting winning strategies, and making clear choices. Learn how to navigate the dynamic business landscape for sustainable success.

25 Essential Strategic Planning Tools

With so many strategic planning tools out there, it can seem confusing. We list 25 key tools, and break them down to help you make sense of them.

What is a business strategy consultant?

Discover the role of a business strategy consultant in guiding CEOs, Boards, and Senior Managers through unbiased strategic advice for informed decision-making. Similar to a doctor for businesses, these consultants diagnose issues, propose solutions, and shape future scenarios. Learn about the skills required, including analytical prowess, interpersonal finesse, and creative thinking. Explore various career paths, from entry-level roles to partnership, and grasp the importance of staying adaptable in an ever-evolving business landscape. Dive into different types of strategy consultancies and related roles to gain insights into this dynamic field.

The Lean Canvas

The Lean Canvas is a version of the Business Model Canvas aimed at startups that are still in the early idea stage.

Mastering Business Strategies: Building a Roadmap to Success

Explore the transformative power of business strategies in steering organizations towards success.

Mastering Strategy Implementation: Overcoming Common Pitfalls

Discover the keys to successful strategy implementation and learn how to avoid common pitfalls to master the art of turning strategies into actionable results.

How #StratBot works for you

Our revolutionary #StratBot works tirelessly behind the scenes to help you develop and execute your business strategies.

12 techniques to help you do a better SWOT analysis

The humble SWOT can be notoriously difficult to do well. These techniques will help you to rock yours.

Simplified Navigation

A quick run-down of StratNavApp.coms menu navigation structure

Stay in control while executing your strategy

Ensure your strategy is successfully executed with StratNavApp.com's built-in governancefeatures.