Strategy is simple.
We all hear and read about strategy every day, it’s the proverbial beating of the dead horse. So, what’s so new and different about what I’m about to tell you? Why should you invest three minutes to read this article?
Cause I promised to save you $19.99, right? I’ll get to that in a moment. Tick tock.
What I’m about to say may not be new to you … but it might just jog your brain a bit and remind you to think a little differently when you think about strategy.
Hear me out: “Strategy” is everywhere these days. Everyone and their uncle has “the secret to better business strategy” or “the 3 things you MUST do to ensure success in your business.” But the way I’d like to ask you to think about strategy is even simpler than that. During a recent eQ meeting, we briefly discussed the difference between simple and simplistic:
Contrary to most people’s understanding, simplistic is not a fancy word for simple. Simplistic does not describe things that are easy to understand, deal with, or use. Those sorts of things are simply, simple.
My point: strategy is just that - simply, simple. When you boil it all down, strategy is about using the least amount of resources possible to get the biggest impact, and repeat. This is the most bare bones definition of strategy possible, and some people will adamantly disagree with me, but at the heart of the matter, it is in fact the fundamental guiding principle of strategy.
I ask that you think about your business. What is your strategy – at the most simple level? This isn’t designed to be a challenging test for you; remember we’re dealing with simple here.
First think about the impact piece - What’s your desired impact?
• What's your aim?
• What do you want people to think/feel when they hear your company name?
• Who do you want to effect? And how?
Now, think about the resources available to you – what (or who) can help you achieve your goal?
• Who do I know?
• What am I really good at?
• What do I need help with?
• Do I have the right people on my team?
Lots and lots can be said on the topic of strategy. That I won’t argue with, but what I do argue with is how it feels like we’re staring at a dictionary (simple) waiting for lines of Shakespeare to appear (complicated). It’s just not going to happen, because strategy doesn’t have to be this complicated formula for success that people will lead you to believe it is.
Now to the saving money part: I just saved you from buying yet another business strategy books off of Amazon! It doesn’t take 400 pages of case studies and empirical research to define strategy and what a good one looks like, I promise.
All you need to do is take a minimalist approach to strategy. You’ll find it is simply simple.
