Strategy. It's one of those words you hear thrown around a lot at meetings. But what exactly IS strategy? Here are a few definitions:

• Strategy is the steps taken by management to grow sales without cutting prices
• Strategy is about working out what you're going to be in five years' time and taking action today to make it happen
• Strategy is about understanding what you're good at and turning it into a profitable enterprise
• Strategy is deciding which company to buy next

There are plenty more, of course. The fact is that strategy means thinking about what to do in the future to make more money for your business. The fact is also that most businesses find this sort of thinking very hard to do. Thinking about the future involves taking a step back from today's logistics problems, the full in-tray, and so on. It tends to fall to the bottom of the list of priorities, when in fact it should be near the top.

So what's the solution? Thinking about your business strategy shouldn't be a full-time job, but it certainly requires some serious thinking at key decision-making points. Wine Intelligence can help. We spend an increasing amount of our time helping our key clients with their major strategic decisions. Clients find it particularly useful to call on the expertise of our senior team, who can bring a powerful combination of objectivity and global market understanding to the table when major strategy decisions are being contemplated. If you think your business could benefit from Wine Intelligence's strategy input, please call Richard Halstead on 020 7089 3890 or email him at richard@wineintelligence.com