Our very own strategy expert Lee-anne Knight explains what strategy is and why it’s so fundamental in the success of a business.
In my early working life a friend and I explored starting a business together – who hasn’t? As experts in our fields we thought all we needed to do was develop a business plan, kick off some marketing activity and hit the ground running. And while we picked up some work, and even had repeat business, we didn’t grow. Why? In hindsight, and with 30+ years of learning and business experience under my belt, that answer is obvious: Success starts and ends with strategy.
If the term ‘strategic direction’ rings a bell, it’s because managers and leaders like to use it when they’re talking about growth, expansion or product to stakeholders. But dig a little deeper and you will find many organisations don’t have a strategy. While I’d love to tell you that my business partner and I went on to develop a bold strategy that helped us become widely successful, we were one of those organisations that were more aspirational than directional. As founders we didn’t have consensus on our core goals or measurements of success, so we couldn’t communicate a vision or forward-looking plan to our customers or ourselves. Goodbye company.
Strategy isn’t just an ideal. It’s the grunt work, the thinking and the planning to help you get to where you want to be. It's a process that helps you prioritise goals, understand risks, align on focus areas, and identify resource needs to drive that success. Even if a fire-drill pulls you elsewhere, your strategy will help you stay focused on your longer term goals.
The Einstein quote: “If you can’t explain it to a six year old, you don’t understand it yourself” perfectly sums up just how simple your vision should be. It should provide a lens on a desired future state, a place the company aspires to be, is clear and can be measured.
When Salesforce formed in 1999 its vision was to rapidly create a world-class internet company for sales automation. It was simple and a vision that people could (and did) buy into. And the thing about visions is they don’t have to stay the same. How many times do you think Salesforce has evolved its vision since 1999? Many. Don’t be afraid to reset and adjust plans to ensure the evolution of your strategy is built on the right things.
‘Cover’ tells the BIG story of their success.
‘Headlines’ convey the substance of the cover story.
‘Sidebars’ reveal interesting facets of the cover story.
‘Quotes’ can be from anyone as long as they’re related to the story.
‘Brainstorm’ is for documenting initial ideas for the cover story.
‘Images’ are for supporting the content with illustrations.
The Cover Story exercise is a great way to encourage blue sky thinking and set you and your team on a path to building a solid strategy and plan designed to deliver on your goals. For more information on how to run the exercise visit the Game Storming website.
Don’t wait to start creating your strategy when something goes wrong, start now to ensure your company doesn’t exit stage right like mine did.
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