Have you ever wondered if your organization’s ‘strategy’ or ‘strategic discussions’ could be more than just buzzwords, truly driving meaningful direction and impact?
You’re not alone.
As a former strategy consultant, I’ve participated in (and led) numerous leadership workshops, and I’ve seen firsthand how organisations can sometimes miss the mark.
Despite what some strategy consultants might tell you, a couple of workshops won’t magically deliver a coherent strategy.
Common Pitfalls I’ve Observed
Mistaking Vision and Ambition for Strategy
Visions and ambitions are useful, but they’re not strategy. True strategy goes beyond simply aiming to be the best or achieving revenue targets. While creating broad visions or setting ‘big hairy’ goals in workshops can be inspiring, it’s not the same as developing a concrete strategy that drives real results.
Mistaking Planning For Strategy
It’s easy to confuse planning with strategy, but they serve different purposes. Planning focuses on operational details, while strategy requires making crucial, sometimes tough decisions that guide those plans. True strategy involves setting the direction that shapes all future actions.
Narrow Thinking
Sometimes, strategy workshops become too focused on internal operations and current projects, losing sight of the broader market and potential opportunities. To develop a strong strategy, it’s vital to look outward and upward, considering external trends and perspectives.
Short-Term Focus
The pressure to achieve short-term results can lead organizations to prioritize immediate gains over long-term sustainability. A strong strategy balances the need for short-term successes with a long-term vision, ensuring coherent actions that deliver lasting competitive advantage.
So, What Does Good Strategy Look Like?
Crafting a solid strategy is no easy feat—it’s more art than science. While respected strategists may not always see eye to eye, there are common threads in their thinking.
Here are the critical elements that I find echoed across strategy thought leaders:
1. Clear Diagnosis
A solid strategy demands a thorough and honest evaluation of the organisation’s challenges, opportunities, and competitive landscape. It begins with a deep understanding of the current situation.
As Albert Einstein famously said “If I had an hour to solve a problem, I’d spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions.”
This applies to strategy formulation. Investing ample time in understanding the challenges that exist will significantly increase the likelihood of landing on an effective strategy.
2. Long-Term Orientation
It is critical to maintain a long-term focus in organisational strategy. Short-term tactics are necessary for immediate results, but sustainable competitive advantage and organisational success stem from aligning these tactics with a clear long-term focus
As Warren Buffett famously said “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Warren’s philosophy speaks to foresight in strategy, where each decision plants seeds for future success.
3. Focus
A strong strategy prioritises action and drives cohesive efforts across the organisation. It involves making tough decisions, often saying ‘no’ more than ‘yes’.
Michael Porter, a renowned management studies academic, emphasises, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”
Steve Jobs echoed this sentiment, stating “People think focus means saying yes to the thing you’ve got to focus on. But that’s not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully.”
A key challenge in leadership is having the discipline to reject good ideas and opportunities in favour of focusing intensely on a few coherent actions that are most likely to result in a strong competitive advantage
4. Simplicity and Clarity
Keeping strategy simple, and communicating is well is essential. When everyone in an organisation understands the strategy, they can all make decisions and take actions that support it.
Richard Branson encourages this, saying “Complexity is your enemy. Any fool can make something complicated. It is hard to keep things simple.”
Make it simple, make it clear and make sure it’s understood, so that everyone can push in the same direction
So, how do you build a great strategy?
Well, to start – do all the things that experts say make a good strategy:
Build a Deep Understanding
Start by thoroughly understanding and defining the key challenges your organisation faces. This isn’t something you can rush through in a quick strategy workshop. It requires dedicated time, research, discussion, and distillation.
Long-Term Positioning
Keep your sights set on the long-term goals. Avoid getting too bogged down in the day-to-day. Look ahead and around to anticipate future opportunities.
Focus
Master the art of saying no—focus intensely on a few cohesive actions that make up your strategy.
Clarity in Communication
Ensure your strategy is clear and easily explainable. If it’s not crystal clear, go back and simplify until it is straightforward for everyone to understand.
When building a strategy, models and tools such SWOT and PESTEL can support strategic thinking. While these tools aren’t a silver bullet for crafting a great strategy, they can prompt valuable strategic thinking.
Here are three lesser-used tools that I find particularly useful:
The Futures Cone
The Futures Cone helps visualise different possible futures by exploring probable, plausible, and preferable scenarios. It can help organisations in look up and out, fostering proactive rather than reactive strategies that anticipate and prepare for future uncertainties
VRIO Framework
The VRIO Framework assesses the potential of resources and capabilities that already exist in the organisation, by evaluating their value, rarity, inimitability, and how easily they can be deployed. VRIO can support identification of sustainable competitive advantages
Porters 5 Forces
Porter’s Five Forces is a tool that helps organisations see how much competition they face. It provides insights into the attractiveness and profitability of an industry, which can guide strategic positioning and competitive strategy
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