What is a Strategy Management Maturity Model and How to Use It?

How does your business respond to emerging problems or changes in the industry? Some companies are reactive, only responding when things change or go wrong. However, a better approach is to be more proactive by analyzing industry trends, identifying potential threats, and safeguarding against issues that could arise. While you can’t predict everything, this puts you in a much better position to succeed. 

How an organization reacts can help determine the maturity level of your strategic management process. As strategic planning matures in an organization, it tends to become more thorough and proactive. Let’s look deeper at the strategy management maturity model to see how you can implement it into your strategic planning initiatives. 

A strategy management maturity model is a structured framework that assesses how well an organization manages its strategy development and strategy related functions. 

It measures how mature and developed an organization's processes are, ranging from informal and reactive strategies to optimized, proactive ones. Maturity models help organizations standardize their strategy management processes and drive continuous improvement.

The IT strategy maturity model is a great example of how organizations implement this tool to ensure their IT infrastructure is aligned with business goals. This model evaluates how IT departments evolve through structured, managed processes to support overall company growth. 

For example, the IT strategy maturity model can help monitor emerging technologies and assess their impact on operations and customers. By evaluating innovations like cloud computing or AI, organizations can proactively adopt solutions that enhance efficiency and customer satisfaction. This helps align tech investments with long-term strategic goals.

Many other industries can also benefit from using the management maturity model. For example, healthcare organizations can use it to assess the effectiveness of patient care processes, and retail organizations can use it to assess inventory management strategies. 

To help you determine your business's maturity level, you can measure strategic maturity based on five levels that are the most common places where companies land. As you move through the maturity levels, your business becomes more proactive and strategically sound. 

1. Initial: At this level, processes are ad hoc and reactive, with little formal structure.
2. Repeatable: Basic processes are in place, and operations are consistent, but there is still room for refinement.
3. Defined: Processes are standardized and documented, making them more reliable and scalable.
4. Managed: The organization actively measures and controls processes, ensuring better alignment with strategic goals.
5. Optimized: Continuous improvement is ingrained, and the company is agile, responding proactively to changes. 

Building on the five levels of maturity modeling, Quantive’s Always-On Strategy model offers a flexible approach that continuously adapts to business needs. Rather than static, long-term plans, this model enables real-time adjustments through ongoing data analysis. 

The Always-On Strategy helps companies stay agile by emphasizing continuous feedback and real-time performance tracking. As businesses mature, this model helps teams adjust quickly while ensuring their efforts still align with broader objectives.

Using a maturity model is as simple as these four steps:

1. Assessment of the current maturity level: Conduct an internal evaluation to determine your organization's current maturity level regarding strategy execution and planning. This step involves identifying strengths, weaknesses, and process gaps.
2. Set realistic goals based on the model: Once the current level is assessed, set clear, achievable goals. For example, if your organization is in the initial stage, the next step could be standardizing processes to create a repeatable strategy framework.
3. Implement changes incrementally: Use the insights gained from the assessment to make gradual improvements. Focusing on incremental growth allows for a smoother transition to higher maturity levels.
4. Monitor progress and benefits: Monitor how these changes impact your strategic outcomes. Maturity models help identify inefficiencies early on and guide timely corrective action.

A Real-World Example of Using a Strategy Management Maturity Model

As the automotive industry is shifting toward electric vehicles, autonomous driving, and new mobility solutions, General Motors (GM) recognized the need to adapt and strengthen its long-term strategic outlook.

GM evaluated its current capabilities using the strategic maturity model and identified key gaps in its production workflows and strategy execution. This analysis led the company to invest more in electric vehicle (EV) technologies and innovations like its airless wheel prototype, which aligned with GM’s vision of a future with zero crashes, zero emissions, and zero congestion. 

As part of this strategic evolution, GM implemented more structured, consistent processes, moving from reactive problem-solving to a more proactive, forward-looking approach.

Through the model, GM was able to standardize operations across its global facilities, optimize its research and development initiatives, and enhance collaboration between teams, all while ensuring alignment with the company’s larger corporate goals. This enabled GM to streamline its production workflows and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly changing industry.

Recently, in Q2 of 2024, GM reported its best quarterly sales in over three years, including a 40% increase in electric vehicle deliveries, showing that its efforts are moving in the right direction. 

A strategic management maturity model is essential for evaluating and improving how organizations execute and manage business plans. By assessing current maturity levels and setting clear goals for improvement, companies can enhance their strategic processes and drive continuous growth.

Applying the maturity model in real-world scenarios starts with regular self-assessment and continuous improvements based on feedback. As businesses strive to stay agile in a fast-paced market, these models will continue to play a critical role in maintaining competitiveness. 

You can also use tools to help manage this process, such as Quantive StrategyAI, which provides real-time insights and data-driven strategies, helping organizations easily progress through the maturity levels.

With Quantive’s StrategyAI, your organization can assess its strategic maturity and take actionable steps to improve. From evaluating current capabilities to optimizing processes, Quantive offers data-driven tools to help you elevate your strategy management. 

Want to assess your strategy maturity? Download this scorecard now.

Ready to enhance your organization's strategic maturity? Contact us today to learn more about how Quantive StrategyAI can support your continuous improvement journey.