Here is how to identify and tap into the opportunities available

It is that time of the year companies and individuals are going back to the drawing table to review their strategies and set a

It is that time of the year companies and individuals are going back to the drawing table to review their strategies and set a new agenda or revise the old one.

We cannot wait for 2020 to end. This year has been defined by the Coronavirus pandemic and given naysayers and cynical people have got a blanket excuse for their poor performance.

Part of your strategic planning process must identify opportunities present in the market. I use the following tool to help identify opportunities. Whether you are drawing a personal strategy or an enterprise one, you will find the following tool handy. Here we go.

This is a brainstorming exercise. If you are drawing a family strategy, have each member list all the opportunities they see which the family could tap into. If you are doing a business strategy, do the same. Let all people list all the opportunities they see existing or emerging.

For each opportunity, classify whether it is local, regional, or global. This helps you define the delivery channels and business model depending on the size of the opportunity and the target market.

Put some context to each opportunity, by defining how to tap into it. Be creative and deliberate about this. Otherwise, it will be another paper opportunity. Therefore, define how success would look like after tapping into the opportunity. What is the scorecard item that will monitor the success of optimizing the opportunity?

For example, if the emerging opportunity is a restaurant business, the scorecard item to measure progress could be the revenue generated from meals served. To generate revenue, you must have made a great meal, and sold it to the ideal target audience – customers who love the meal and also can afford to pay for it.

And that is how you identify opportunities and become deliberate at tapping into them. Unlike in the traditional planning process, where you just merely list the opportunity, in the above table, you can attempt to tap into it.

Do you need a mentor? Someone who will keep your feet on the fire if that is what it takes to achieve your ambition? Call Mr Strategy. You will have found yourself an outstanding accountability partner.

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