Why I harp on about strategy...

Hey!

I got an email from a friend in London about two weeks ago, he wrote with mention of a mutual colleague that was harping on about my harping on about strategy.

La da da!

The gist of the complaint was that I should give up on strategy because no one does it because they are all short-term thinkers.

La da da!

In that case, let me get my swim trunks on now. Because it is obvious that because all the kids are jumping off the bridge, so should I.

La da da!

Actually, because people aren’t thinking and acting strategically, that’s the exact reason to keep popping on about strategy.

Why do I say that?

Well, the outcomes when you aren’t strategic are pretty grim.

Like what?

You end up not pricing well, leading to discounting, and that cuts your profits, your brand equity, and your price integrity.

You end up in a situation where every opportunity is a “good” opportunity. This means that you are always reflexively chasing every shiny, new object. You don’t have a framework to know whether a decision is good or bad. And, you waste a lot of time, energy, and resources on things that have no chance of giving you results.

I’d expect nothing less, of course.

If you have a technology tool to sell, you don’t want people thinking strategically because they might ask if this is the right technology to solve their problem. Or, if technology is their problem at all.

If you are selling a service like social media marketing, you don’t want anyone thinking strategically because you just want the business to know that “everyone” is doing it. Not that most social media impressions are fraudulent. That social media doesn’t really do anything for brand building. Nor, that social media ad tracking is something that is hit or miss at best.

Again, I’d expect nothing less.

So, strategy it is because of the following reasons:

First, focusing on strategy helps you clarify your thinking.

If you have ever needed clear thinking, it is right now. There is so much noise and so much nonsense floating around that you need the clarity of focus that a good strategy provides.

Second, strategy typically helps you deliver higher profits.

You have been choiceful in your thinking around your business. So you are often targeting better and have a value proposition that hits at a real need of your market.

This often leads to better pricing decisions, less discounts, and more profits.

Finally, because your competition is likely not thinking strategically, you have an advantage by taking the step back to look around at your business.

In the land of the blind man, the one-eyed man is the king or something like that.

As for me, my focus on strategy is pretty simple.

One, not a lot of people are doing that. It means that I have a lot of space in the market.

Two, it is an evergreen topic and one you often feel the need for more acutely in a downturn.

Third, it is the thing I am best at. Ask the folks I’ve worked with over the years, they’ll tell you.

See you next week,

Dave