System Analytics

Business Strategy

Seahorse Analytics collaborates with leadership to prepare or improve the business' Strategic Business Plan. The Strategic Business Plan is a hierarchical structure best developed from the top down. This means beginning with an abstract expression of core Values and a visionary Mission Statement, and becoming increasingly concrete through the successive definition of Goals, Objectives, Strategies, and Tasks (Tactics). Constructed carefully, with an eye towards the thorough integration of all parts, the Business Plan allows management and employees to focus upon day-to-day Tasks, confident that they are employing the Strategies that will enable them to attain the Objectives that satisfy the Goals in fulfillment of their stated Mission and in accord with their Values. The basic elements of a Strategic Business Plan are the following:

• Values - Values are the abstract, underlying concepts that are important to the entity, such as “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Market Share”.
• Mission Statement - The Mission Statement is a concise expression of the overall purpose of the enterprise. It should be crafted as poetry, devoid of clutter, focused enough to provide direction, yet generic enough not to limit the enterprise’s ability to evolve in the face of changing market conditions. It should be strong enough not to require frequent revision.
• Goals - Goals are representations of the company’s aspirations in accord with its Mission Statement. Like Values, Goals are abstract and generally expressed. Like the Mission Statement, proper Goals should not require frequent revision.
• Objectives - In contrast with the Goals that they support, Objectives are explicitly concrete. They should be "SMART", i.e. Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Objectives should be periodically updated according to their time sensitivity.
• Strategies - Strategies comprise the methods by which the entity achieves its Objectives. Each Objective may have several Strategies, applied serially or in parallel. Strategies also should receive periodic review to ensure their currency.
• Tasks - Tasks break down Strategies into manageable components, and are the most granular and rapidly changing of the basic elements of a Strategic Business Plan. These are the activities that occupy most of the entity’s time. If necessary, Tactics may be broken down into Action Plans which specify the “what, when, and who” for each task. Tactics should be updated as frequently as conditions require.

"SWOT" Analysis

Once you have a plan, the next question is how suited is the organization to accomplish that plan? Seahorse Analytics can guide your organization through a "SWOT Analysis" to achieve a better understanding of itself and its relative position in the marketplace. "SWOT" is an acronym for:

• Strengths
• Weaknesses
• Opportunities
• Threats

Strengths and Weaknesses are internal attributes consisting of people, processes, and tools (including but not limited to domain expertise, business relationships, and financial resources). What are the organization's strong points? What are the organization's weak points? Opportunities and Threats are external attributes, such as economic climate, market conditions and technological innovation. What opportunities exist outside the organization that could be leveraged? What threats exist outside the organization that pose risk?

Marketing Plan

As the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu wrote in his classic The Art of War:

Being successful in business means not only knowing your company, but also understanding your competitors. Seahorse Analytics can facilitate a better understanding of your market position through the preparation of the following:

• Market Analysis - Overview of market segments, historical data, projected trends
• Marketing Overview - Business model, target customer segments, key strategies
• Competitive Analysis - Industry overview, primary competitors, market position