I read an article in a
journal today (find link here) that focused on the challenges of small
businesses in making strategic decisions. The author states that small
independent businesses are limited, contrary to big business, in how strategic
they can be in making decisions. They can basically select a strategy of
growth, retention or harvesting (reducing business functions that lose money)
while big businesses can do all three.
What was interesting to
me is that the author presented two different ways of making decisions. By time
(long, medium and short term) and by importance (strategic, operational and
tactical) Now I have been part of an organization that tends to use the second
way to classify decisions for almost 15 years, however once classified as such
they are immediately arranged from long to short range time frame decisions. I
don't see why the two ways should be exclusive.
Do small business owners
have as much time to think strategically as big business CEOs? I think that's
the more pressing question. If time permitted they probably would but with
multiple functions and a very short staff to carry all the tasks needed most
small business owners don't. A "break" even for a day or two to think
about the business, where it is and where it’s going, is essential.
Thoughts?
