At the outset of the strategy-making process, a company’s senior managers must wrestle
with the issue of what directional path the company should take. Can the company’s
prospects be improved by changing its product offerings, or the markets in which it
participates, or the customers it aims to serve? Deciding to commit the company to one
path versus another pushes managers to draw some carefully reasoned conclusions about
whether the company’s present strategic course offers attractive opportunities for growth
and profitability or whether changes of one kind or another in the company’s strategy and
long-term direction are needed.