Strategic Diagnostic

Overview

Whether a business is growing strongly or is performing below expectations, Callidon’s Strategic Diagnostic process helps clients better understand a company’s trajectory relative to its potential.

We blend the objectivity of a systematic, data-driven approach with the experience gained from working across a large number of different industries and organizations. This enables us to deliver a clear, thorough diagnosis of the relative performance, key opportunities and strategic risks facing a company, along with pragmatic advice on how best to address the findings.

Strategic Challenges

When a company’s strategy is unclear or grounded in incorrect assumptions, people and departments throw their weight behind competing and often contradictory tactical initiatives. Organizational friction increases, duplication occurs and opportunities are overlooked. Energy, creativity and capital are rapidly dissipated.

A strategy that is understood by key stakeholders - investors, employees, customers – is critical to the sustained long term growth and profitability of a business. To be understood, it needs to be logical, concise and actionable.

Internally, the strategy will act as a roadmap and context that guides all day-to-day, tactical decisions – pricing changes, investment focus, budget prioritization and many others. To external constituents, it serves to market the company’s value proposition and to manage expectations.

Specifically, without a clear strategy, a business runs the risk of investing in the wrong segments, initiatives and technologies and of being wrong-footed by competitors.

Typical Activities

  • Segment and define the market
  • Diagnose growth and profitability relative to competitors, differentiating between organic and acquired growth
  • Analyze competitors (traditional and non-traditional) and map relative market shares
  • Determine economic drivers of success in the industry
  • Interview customers to understand product perceptions and relative strengths and weaknesses
  • Assess growth potential and evaluate strategic risks, including:
    • Impending changes most likely to impact core markets
    • Market consolidation
    • Technological changes
    • Channels changes
  • Highlight opportunities and develop execution plan, identifying:
    • Which areas to invest in
    • Where growth is less likely
    • How best to avoid or mitigate risk