Interview Questions: Strategic Focus
Definition: Strategic Focus is the ability to analyze the business environment, think strategically and identify issues. To create a strategy, implement it, and lead the department/organization in adopting the changes necessary.
The statements below may be used in your job interview as measures of your "Strategic Focus". There are steps you can take to measure or improve strategic focus.
Strategic Analysis
- Describe a time when you had to consider risks and rewards when making key decisions.
- Decision making is often based on an analysis of data. Give an example of how you would use data to support strategic decision making. What data would you use?
- Have you used strategic tools such as value chain analysis, business environment analysis, and competitor analysis?
- How would you look for opportunities to enhance contributions to the bottom line?
- How would you analyze the business environment to develop strategies to achieve competitive advantage in the marketplace?
- Tell me about a time when you had to address a complex and ambiguous problem?
- You can learn a lot by analyzing the best practices of other organizations. Give an example of when you sustained or achieved a competitive advantage for the organization by understanding the best practices of other organizations.
- Understanding areas where our organization needs to improve is important. Have you led teams responsible for analyzing competitive weaknesses within an organization?
- Explain how you would consider the implications of decisions made and possible effects on the organization.
- Competitive advantages and threats affect every organization. Explain how you would analyze our organization's competitive advantages and threats.
Strategic Thinking
- How do you determine the best approach to achieving desired goals?
- How would you use strategic thinking to make better strategic decisions?
- Tell me about a time when you had to place a strategic focus on internal factors to improve efficiency or conserve limited resources?
- How have you contributed to development of strategic goals?
- Organizations may have strategic objectives related to finance--such as revenue goals or budget limitations. Explain how you would try to achieve strategic financial objectives.
- Give an example of when you had to develop strategies to effectively use company resources or exploit potential opportunities?
- If you department/organization had a broad strategy that needed to be maintained (continued), how would you determine what actions are needed to maintain that strategy?
- Every organization has competitive advantages and threats. How would you describe our organization's competitive advantages and threats?
Awareness
- Sometimes bottlenecks occur in production processes. How would you identify bottlenecks in the production process and develops strategies to correct these issues?
- How would you identify the role of each department in meeting the strategic goals?
- Strategic growth opportunities ensure that we continue to be in business. How would you identify and focus resources on our strategic growth opportunities?
- Tell me about how you would identify and understand competitors in the marketplace?
- We pride ourselves on our ability to meet the needs of our customers. How would you identify ways in which the company is better able to meet the customers' needs than rivals?
- How would you identify and address strategic risks impacting our operations?
- We compete for customers in a marketplace. Are you familiar with our business? How would you identify business strategies to strengthen our competitive capabilities?
- Our competitors are always trying to imitate us. How would you identify strengths that competitors would have trouble imitating?
- How would you identify sources for developing a global competitive advantage for the company?
- Return on investment is important. How would you identify areas where return on investment can be improved?
Scanning/Monitoring
- Did you ever assign individuals the responsibility of keeping track of progress toward achieving strategic milestones?
- Did you create measures of performance and profitability to assess financial objectives?
- Give an example of how you would make plans to handle unforeseen events that could impact the achievement of strategic goals.
- Describe an instance in which you acted upon relevant strategic information affecting the organization.
- Describe how you monitored company performance and made adjustments to the strategic plan as needed.
- Explain the importance of developing strategic capabilities.
- How would you monitor performance of each market within the Area, utilizing reports to ensure sales growth, cost management, and profitability targets are met?
- Give an example of when you recognized the need for strategically developing unique capabilities.
- Describe how you would scan both the internal and external environment to identify strategic opportunities to improve the organization.
- How do you scan the environment for opportunities to exploit?
Vision/Mission/Values Statements
- Describe how you would develop an organizational strategy for each functional area within the mission statement.
- Employees need to know how they contribute to the organization. How would you let employees know how their roles contribute toward the achievement of strategic company objectives.
- How would you create a vision for the organization based on how the organization should appear in the future?
- Describe how you would set strategic objectives to be achieved.
- It is important that projects you are working on support the company in some way. How would you align projects to the strategic goals of the company?
- Sometimes having partners adds value. There are other companies that could be strategic partners with us. Explain how you would pursue strategic alliances with valued partners.
- Explain how we should grow the business and increase customers.
- Can you create a mission statement describing the purpose for the organization? What would it contain?
- Sometimes employees may need a little push to accept a new strategic plan. Have you ever had to inspire employees to adopt a new strategic plan?
- Tell me about a time when you had to ensure that your department's goals were strategically aligned with the company's goals.
- A strategic vision is a statement about what the company should look like in the future. How would you develop a strategic vision statement for our company?
- A values statement helps ensure all employees are working under the same guiding principles. How would you create a values statement to ensure all employees are working under the same guiding principles?
Creating a Strategy
- Describe a time when you had to create an innovative strategy. How did you do it?
- Describe some examples in which you created strategic objectives to increase revenue or profit margins.
- Strategies may be created at the department, division, or corporate levels. Describe when you were asked to formulate strategy at the corporate level? What did you do?
- Describe how you would determine a strategy for advancing the department.
- How would you develop strategies to increase efficiency and reduce environmental impacts?
- To be successful, a strategy should be practical and easy to implement. How do you develop strategies that are practical and can be feasibly implemented within a reasonable period of time?
- Have you had the chance to create plans to develop and promote organizational and area strengths, as well as to address weaknesses?
- The work of a department should support the organization. How would you use the organization's goals to guide (or influence) the development of goals within the department?
- How can you create a strategy to pursue and maintain a competitive advantage in business?
- Finding new business opportunities can significantly impact the business in a positive way. Describe how you would develop strategies to seek new business opportunities.
- How would you ensure the department has a viable strategy for moving forward?
- Companies often have to deal with limitations on the amount of time or resources available for a project. Give examples of how you gave strategic considerations to the time and resources available for projects that you worked on.
- The market place is constantly changing and these changes impact our business. Describe how you would develop a strategic plan for adapting the organization to better respond to external changes in the marketplace.
- Tell me about a time when you had to create a strategy to achieve departmental objectives.
- Explain how you created effective and strategic plans to address issues facing the department/organization.
- We need to expand our business into new locations. How would you develop a corporate strategy to establish business operations in different locations?
- Give an example of a time when you developed a strategic plan to focus on strategic issues.
- Increasing performance is a primary concern. How do you determine the best strategy for achieving elevated levels of performance?
Implementation
- Explain how you would proactively address problems and issues.
- Tell me about a time when you had to communicate goals and objectives to others.
- Do you have an example of when you declined a poor strategy by proposing alternate strategies?
- Explain how you would make sure that all departments/teams are contributing toward the success of the strategy.
- How do you communicate goals and objectives to employees?
- Reinforcing a message helps people to understand it better. Describe how you would reinforce the strategic messaging in various teams, meetings, seminars and workshops.
- Being able to communicate the strategy is a key factor in implementing strategies. Describe how you would communicate a broad picture, overall view, of the organization's strategy?
- How would you make sure employees understand the strategy and goals?
- How would you execute strategies to benefit the organization?
- How do you strategically deploy resources to areas of the greatest need?
- Have you executed strategies to benefit the department?
- Describe when you implemented and executed the company's strategy for advancing production capabilities.
- Do you have examples of when you strategically positioned resources to meet the needs of field based employees?
- Branch locations need various resources to maintain operations. Explain how you would strategically position resources to meet the needs of branch locations.
- Give an example of how you communicated the company's strategic goals and decisions to teams and departments.
- Describe how you would effectively translate strategy into operational decisions.
- How would you evaluate and review the implementation of the strategic plan to ensure achievement of the objectives?
- Sometimes events or problems occur when you least expect them. Describe an example of how you strategically responded to unforeseen issues.
- Explain how you would turn strategic priorities into action plans?
- Have you successfully implemented a strategic plan?
- It is important that people understand their objectives. How do you make sure the objectives are clearly communicated and understood?
- Deadlines are often useful for measuring progress. Have you created deadlines for various components of a strategy?
- How would you coordinate the implementation of a strategy with stakeholders?
Change
- Do you make quick and creative decisions to adjust the strategy to meet the demands of changing situations? Explain.
- Give examples of when you supported changes being recommended from senior management?
- Give examples of when you had to make strategic changes to stay ahead of changes in the business environment.
- Describe how you would modify strategic decisions depending on changes in the business environment.
- Give an example of how you would regularly review the strategic plan and take corrective actions as needed to stay on track.
- Explain how you would exploit resources and capabilities strategically to increase production and responsiveness.
- How would you align cross-functional teams to the strategic plan?
- Describe how you would maintain a strategic focus to sustain competitiveness in changing business environments.
- Have you ever detected changes in the environment and updated the strategic plan to address new opportunities or threats?
- How do you remain vigilant of changes to the business environment and recommend new strategies as needed?
- How do you avoid complacency and strives to be ahead of changes in the business environment?
- Do you make strategic decisions that take into account a dynamic situation?
Leadership
- How do you say "no" when necessary to effectively execute business strategy and meet long-term objectives?
- How do you strategically focus efforts to improve operational efficiencies?
- How do you make decisions that yield more competitive advantages?
- How do you ensure adherence to the strategy to sustain achievement of targeted levels of organizational performance?
- Give an example of when you had to maintain focus on doing the best quality work even if it required saying "no" to unnecessary, or unrelated, projects.
- Have you been effective in strategy formulation and execution?
- Describe how you would keep the team focused on established goals and objectives.
- How do you mobilize change through executive leadership to implement corporate strategies?
- How do you craft and execute strategies to advance the company?
- Describe how you would focus efforts on specific marketing strategies.
- Explain how you make strategic decisions to optimize the returns on capital investments.
- Have you exhibited a strategic orientation to identify and capitalize on opportunities to advance the organization?
- How would you say "no" to strategies that will detract from the organization's objectives?
SWOT Analysis
- How do you identify internal strengths and weaknesses and the opportunities and threats that impact the company?
- Describe how you would develop high-level strategic planning models to identify opportunities to improve the company.
- Have you created a SWOT matrix to help analyze data?
- Have you undertook a SWOT analysis to determine the best strategy to move forward?