Welcome back to Business English Pod for today’s lesson on strategic decision-making. This is the first of a pair of lessons on business strategy.
Every day, business leaders face tough decisions that involve difficult trade-offs. Should we put our time and money into a new opportunity or build capacity in our current operations? Should we partner with company X or company Y? Should we expand east or west?
These decisions are often informed by an overall corporate strategic plan. But that plan can’t account for all possible futures. Big picture plans don’t make the decisions but rather support decision-making. And when the world seems more uncertain, complex, and volatile than ever, the stakes are high for every decision.
There’s lots to consider when making a strategic decision. For starters, we need to think about how the decision aligns with our main goals. For new opportunities, we need to think about growth potential, costs, and profit margins. And we need to be sure we have the right competitive advantage to pursue the opportunity.
In today’s dialog, we’ll listen to a conversation between Paolo, Adrian, and Michelle. They work for a solar panel company that has focused on commercial projects and corporate clients. Now they’re debating the strategic merits of a possible move into the residential market.
Listening Questions
1. After talking about overall goals, what does Paolo get very excited about?
2. What topic does Adrian have many questions about?
3. At the end of the conversation, why does Paolo believe they will be successful in the residential market?
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