Strategy Blind Spots
Depending on the source, strategic planning failure rates are estimates to be anywhere from somewhere around 70% to over 95%. The higher number is actually from a survey of top CEOs that Fortune magazine did a few years ago - a group you would think like strategic plans.
So, the term “strategic planning” causes a lot of cynical eye-ball rolling out here in the real world. But why is planning often such a tedious waste of effort? Three reasons:
1. We often get so caught up in the means, we forget the ends.
2. We think big, get all excited…and then don’t have the people or resources to implement.
3. Ego blind spots. This is rampant throughout military history, from which we got “strategy” in the first place. Romans against the “barbarian” tribes. The Brits in the American Revolution (and Africa, and Afghanistan). Germany in both World Wars.
Thus, most strategic plans fail.
What would the ideal strategic plan be? Here are some quick pointers, based on my own personal (and often painful) experience.
1. Lose the ego. Include the line soldiers in the discussions from the get go. If you’re a sole proprietor or start-up founders that don’t yet have employees, call five colleagues and ask them to throw rocks. (Leave loved ones out of the discussion.)
2. Treat the plan as a map, not a holy document writ in stone. Look at it often, change it often.
3. Don’t confuse quantity with quality. Four 3×5 yellow stickies (Strategy, Targets, Tactics, This Week’s Actions) in your daytimer which you actually look at and act on beats a 250 page document that sits so impressively on a shelf.
4. Keep your eye on your mission. It’s really easy to get distracted by a great opportunity that’s outside the scope of your plan. Sure, take a look - maybe you should dramatically change your course. But, make sure you’re not chasing rainbows while you already have a pot of gold in the backyard.
5. You may need more than one strategy, depending on your targets. However, if you can’t effectively implement more than one, narrow your target focus.
6. Allow room to fail. Think a new product or service is a good idea? Take it for a test drive in a zip code, city, or a marketing collaboration. Allocate part of your funds to the wild idea category and let it rip - but make sure you have a method to the madness, including measurments.
Tags: strategic planning, business development, entrepreneur sanity check
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