Strategy! This is probably the most overused buzzword of the last decade. Everybody wants a strategy and worst everybody has suddenly become strategic. If you really want a strategy read on…
People confuse a strategy with tactics or even inspirational (or not so inspirational) ideas. I am quickly going to test whether you are seeking strategy from tacticians or from real strategists.
Ready?
Let’s think of a game such as tennis, rugby or soccer. Tactics would be to place the ball consistently in a certain place where you know your opponent has a weakness in order to exploit that weakness. This is not your strategy though.
Your strategy is to develop the game in such a way that firstly you are in the position to dictate play, secondly place the opponent in worst possible position (setting the opponent up for the killer tactic) after which you deliver the tactical blow of placing the ball where the weakness can be exploited.
Can you see the difference? In the absence, a strategy the opportunity may present itself to execute the tactics but the opponent may be better positioned to deal with it rendering it less effective.
So in the absence of a strategy, any tactical manoeuvre becomes a roll of the dice – sometimes it might work wonderfully but sometimes not at all. This is resource intensive and counter-productive.
Think of warfare. Bombing the life out of target may be a good tactic but a good strategy would be to first draw out the anti-air defences to another area (say with a fighter pilot attack) leaving your bombers more effective. Get it?
Right, now that we are on the same page, let’s talk about your business strategy.
Business strategy
Firstly, if you are looking elsewhere for your business strategy, stop! You are now talking to someone who has developed and executed some killer business strategies for major corporations over a 19 year period. Do not let some tactician waste your valuable resources on a bunch of tactical ideas (that may be good!) without coordinating that with a good business strategy.
Secondly, understanding your business’ uniqueness and the trading environment is key to success. History is littered with military and sports encounters where the underdog won because of a good strategy – most often against all odds. There is no reason why this cannot be true for your business.
Getting a good strategy
What you need to know and accept is that a good strategy is not a quick fix but a process. The good news is that while developing the strategy we often unearth some quick-wins and low hanging fruit which helps to gain momentum while the larger strategy is developed and implemented.
You really want some quality experience by your side along this journey. We have been helping healthy and very sick businesses define and implement strategies that helped them grow sustainably. Isn’t that what you want?
Contact me now if a good strategy is what you are looking for.