A business strategy framework is a crucial and cornerstone tool that is useful in the analysis of issues and formulation of effective business strategies. It lets leaders articulate achievable goals and creates pathway for businesses that guides them as they grow and accomplish goals.

Strategy frameworks also provide a common ground to employees that are aligned with the prime business objective. It simply helps the employees to stay relevant and work productively in their roles.

Why do businesses need a strategic framework?

Do you know why there’s always one business that is more successful than the others? The answer lies in the unique business framework used by an organization.

A strategy framework ensures consistency within an organization by clarifying the course of action to achieve a well-defined goal. It can either make or break a business as it is the foundation for the internal and external configuration of priorities and initiatives that demonstrates how your organization is working towards one singular vision.

Global companies make use of strategy frameworks to develop and execute a successful global strategy and leadership within the organizational network. If we look from an external standpoint, then a strategy framework provides an overview of the core purpose of an organization. Internally, it provides a clear vision to your team and keeps them integrated to work towards a single goal.

Top 4 Business Strategy Frameworks

While selecting a strategy framework for your organization it is very important to consider – the type, objective, vision, goal, strengths, and weaknesses of your organization.

There are numerous strategy frameworks to choose from. We have rounded up the most popular and highly used strategy frameworks to help you select the one that goes best with your business needs.

Hambrick & Fredrickson’s Strategy Diamond

This strategy framework provides a concise way that illustrates how the different parts of an organization’s strategy fit and works together.  With the help of this model, organizations can get a checklist of the different elements that constitute a good strategy. It can help businesses ensure if their strategy is effective and sustainable. Developed in 2001 by Strategy leaders Donald Hambrick and James Fredrickson, this framework is broken down into 5 parts:

• Arenas
• Vehicles
• Differentiators
• Staging
• Economic Logic

In a nutshell, the strategy diamond is an effective attempt to define the concept of strategy and a practical approach to creating a strategic plan.

Porter’s Five Forces Model

Porter’s Five Forces Model is one of the most prominent and highly regarded tools used for measuring the competition within a business environment and for identifying the potential of a strategy. This Framework model is constituted of the fundamental five forces that exemplify the competitive intensity, different levels of profitability, and attractiveness of an industry. The five forces that made up this model are:

• Competitive Rivalry
• Supplier Power
• Buyer Power
• Threat of Substitution
• The threat of New Entry

This tool was created by Michael Porter, a Harvard Business school professor, in 1979. Porter’s ideology behind this tool was to motivate businesses to look beyond their competitors and evaluate the other underlying factors that could impact the business environment. Businesses can take advantage of this strategic framework to develop productive strategies and measure their impact in the long run.

Ansoff Matrix

In the ever-changing business environment, a global strategy and leadership are required to take an organization forward. Ansoff Matrix enables leaders, business heads, and senior managers to devise business strategies for growth purposes.

It is also known as the Market Expansion Grid and is divided into four strategies that enable organizations to plan their growth strategies and identify the risk associated with it. Developed by the great mathematician and business manager, Igor Ansoff, this strategy framework tool is majorly used by leaders and executives to gain a deeper understanding of the risks associated with growing businesses. The four strategies that Ansoff Matrix talks about are:

• Market Penetration
• Product Development
• Market Development
• Diversification

Wrapping Up

These three business frameworks together broadly cover the top fundamentals, elements, and aspects involved in strategy formation. Look into your business and decide which one fits the best with your vision.

For more business strategy tools, methods, and frameworks, visit The Strategy Institute’s insights section.