Are you so focused on the day-to-day that you can’t see the big picture? No organization has the luxury of sitting around discussing strategy for days on end, but successful businesses ensure there IS a strategy. They refer to it often to check they haven’t gone down a rabbit hole following some shiny object that won’t deliver results. Strategy ensures focus and keeps organizations from trying to play all sides of the field.
We’ve had the pleasure of working with organizations of all sizes and length of time in business. Consistently, complete lack of strategy that should drive the company’s tactical decisions surprises us. Many times, when we speak to the CEO, they have the vision in their head, but haven’t taken the time to craft the narrative around the strategy. This means there is no communication tool for the rest of the organization.
In other cases, we find high energy, results driven CEOs with brilliant products but don’t achieve the results they were hoping. Why? Because they didn’t commit to a direction. Afraid of making the wrong decision, they elect for no decision at all. Strategy isn’t one way, all in, forever. It structures the decision making process. And, if it doesn’t work, amend it. Markets change, business sophistication grows, consumers flip-flop. Your strategy needs to flex to stay ahead of the game, but no strategy means no decisions.
When it comes to your brand and marketing, successful companies ensure their brand is included and aligned with their business strategy. Branding is not a stand-alone, disconnected creative exercise. Your marketing plan should follow lock step with your business strategy. Hold your marketing accountable for business results.
“When a strategy succeeds, it seems a little like magic, unknowable and unexplainable in advance but obvious in retrospect. It isn’t. Really, strategy is about making specific choices to win in the marketplace.”
— Roger Martin, Playing to Win
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