The Strategy Canoe

Being strategic, creating a strategic plan, working on the corporate strategy we’ve all heard it, many of us have participated in strategic planning sessions and been tasked with creating a winning strategy. We seen the process get side tracked,mired in the mud, abandoned and wrecked.Does it have to be this way?  But what does being strategic really mean? 

Well that depends on who you talk to.

Ask the CEO of a company and he will talk about strategy as the road map that leads to greater sales and profits, increased share prices and shareholder dividends. The Sales and Marketing Managers will think strategy is the tack the company will take to out maneuver the competition. The Accounting Department may perceive strategy as a document outlining revenues and expenses and ROI. Human Resources will think strategy is the application of the human resources to business problems. While each maybe correct, it certainly points to the fact that strategy is different to different people and makes the case that before we embark on a strategic plan we need to define our strategy. 

I like to think of strategy as the rudder of the corporation providing the core direction rather than the propulsion. The individual departments are like the people manning the paddles. Pulling together propels the boat forward. If someone is out of sync or pulling too hard or not hard enough, the boat begins going in circles unable to be steered regardless of how much you pull on the strategic rudder.

Strategy begins by gathering information finding out how your corporation and brand is being perceived by your customers, suppliers, staff, stakeholders, investors, competitors, government and the wider general public. You can only begin to chart an new course when you understand where you are now. Are you sailing in calm waters unaware of the waterfall you are approaching? Are you in rough waters and need to steer for a sheltered cove? Are you approaching rapids and looking for a safe way through?

Once you know the truth you need time to think, to gather and encourage input from all segments of your business. You need to look at what’s working for you and your competition and what’s not. Sometimes referred to as a SWOT analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) it is really a careful scan above and below the waters surface.

At this point no ideas should be dismissed out-of-hand for out of the craziest idea comes that brilliant solution. Great ideas are not the the exclusive purview of those in positions of power. Many of the best ideas come from those employees who struggle with the problems daily. They must fee safe and supported if you want their ideas. 

Rather than look for ways to dominate, look for the niches, the spaces between competitive offers that you can exploit. The hardest rock is no match for water that finds its way into the smallest crack, freezes and breaks the stone. 

To stay ahead of your competition you need to have your ear to the ground listening to what customers, suppliers and staff are telling you while climbing the tallest tree and scanning the horizon for opportunities. No one said this would be easy. 

Many of the newest opportunities will appear online and frankly this is the natural territory of the young. If you are not seeking their advice about how they are accessing information today your boat is slipping backward fighting against the tide. Strategic thinking can be taught and I have seen great ideas come from the most unlikely source. Stay open minded and exclude no one. 

Looking up at the stack of information gathered can be intimidating, but now is the time to begin to select the ideas that appear to have the best chance of success and crafting them into your overall plan. Don’t do this in isolation talk to those affected and see what hurdles need to be overcome. Focus on the ideas that can be done right now and those that have the largest potential for success. Those ideas that don’t make the cut need to be explained to the person who submitted the idea. Thank them and encourage them to keep thinking.

Now it is time to out-think your competition, look at what defines you, what you do best and what’s the easy things to improve. Take immediate advantage of gaps in the market, even if that means going to market while still making changes. Better to be first with a product answering 80% of the demand, than waiting until it is 100% and missing 50% of the sales. Agree on what’s to be done. Are we building a canoe of birch bark or kevlar, wood gunnels or metal? Now’s the time to hammer out the details. 

Next you need to look at what it takes to make your plans a reality. What time, budget and resources can you throw at it. What are the roadblocks and how will you get over them? Bring in your tactical planners and talk specifics. Make a plan.

Act, Act now! Just do it. Figure it out the bumps as you go, get out there. Measure the results and adjust as required. Being strategic is not about being static or navel gazing. It’s about gathering information, out-thinking your competition, servicing a gap in the market and making sales, profits and changes as you go. 

The canoe’s in the water, it’s moving quickly your employees are putting their backs into it. As it it races along you are making minor course corrections to the strategic plan rudder guiding your canoe around the rocks, past the competition and out into a sea of opportunity.