1) ask, "Where are we now as a business?" The manager typically begins (step 1) of the Strategic Management Process by asking this question. Here he or she defines the company's current business. Specifically, "What products do we sell, where do we sell them, and how do our products or services differ from our competitors'?"
2) evaluate the firm's internal and external strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats; to answer the question "Are we in the right business given our strengths and weaknesses and the challenges we face?" The manager's aim is to create a strategic plan that makes sense in terms of the company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.
3) formulate a new business direction; based on the analysis (the environmental scan and SWOT). Decide what our new business should be, in terms of what we sell, where we will sell it, and how our products or services differ from competitors' products and services. Some managers express the essence of their new business with a vision statement.
4) decide on strategic goals; the manager's next step is to translate step 3's desired new direction into strategic goals.
5) choose specific strategies or courses of action. the manager chooses strategies—courses of action—that will enable the company to achieve its strategic goals.
6) implement/execute the strategic plan. This means actually hiring (or firing) people, building (or closing) plants, and adding (or eliminating) products and product lines
7) evaluate the strategic plan's results. Things don't always turn out as planned. All managers should periodically assess the progress of their strategic decisions.