How to do strategy without sacrifice
By now I think we all know the basics. You want a good strategy? Then you need to sacrifice. You need to decide not only what you’re going to focus on, but also what you’re going to neglect. Typically this means deciding what you’re going to allow your competitors to have. Picking the areas you’re going […]
What nature teaches us about strategy
Many of us are fond of using natural allegories in business. Most of these (such as “viral” or “organic” growth) are so embedded in the vernacular that their natural origins have been forgotten — however, there is one analogy which still draws on the natural world in a very conscious way: Darwinism. Darwinian language — […]
Don’t do this: The reason good strategies fail
A good strategy is not a guarantee of success, for two reasons. The first, as we’ve discussed before, is the unfortunate fact that a good strategy can still be wrong. All strategies are, unavoidably, speculative – and therefore even the best of them may not work quite the way you imagined when they get out […]
My brand is doing great – Do i need a strategy?
One of the things about strategy that makes it so slippery (and occasionally hard to sell), is this: You can get away without it. Don’t get me wrong, you’ll be way better off with a strategy than without. But at the same time it’s not like, say, branding, or IT services, or accountancy, or any […]
Devil on your shoulder: The role of temptation in strategy
Today I want to introduce you to a concept I call “choice gravity”, but which you might know by a slightly more conventional and spicy word: temptation. What does temptation have to do with strategy? One hell of a lot really (hell, in a sense, being the operative word here). How so? Well, I’m sure you’ve […]
The 3 ways to judge a strategy
There are two ways a strategy can fail: By being wrong By not being a strategy The first of these, I’m sorry to say, you can’t do much about. No matter how dazzling your thinking or penetrative your insights, you’ll never really know if it’s going to be effective until after the strategy’s been executed. […]
Are you living by lies
The other day I got an insightful bit of feedback on one of these essays from a client (hi Alan), and it really got me thinking. He said: “This is consistent with your philosophy that great strategies are revealed as truths in and of themselves, and not created by the whims of the strategist” Now […]
Can a person have a strategy like a business?
One of my favourite concepts is the difference between expertise and strategic ability: Expertise = knowing things Strategic ability = knowing how things interact You can be extremely knowledgable and yet useless strategically because you can’t grasp the dynamics that lie between the things you know; and conversely you can be totally ignorant and yet strategically insightful, […]
The how cascade – where goals end and strategy begins
Of all the strategic sins one could commit, there are few more heinous than the confusion of “goals” with “strategy”. Fortunately it’s so bad that it’s become something of a cliché. You don’t need to know an awful lot about the field to recognise that “becoming number 1”, or “doubling our revenue”, or “pursuing excellence”, […]
What my strategy documents look like
One question new clients tend to ask when we begin working together, is “what do I get at the end of this?”. Naturally, they get a strategy – and all the ensuing clarity, growth, fame and fortune that goes with it. But that’s not really what they mean. What they mean is what actual “thing” […]