Simplifying strategy: Bringing sexy back to the workplace

A thousand (or less) years ago, when I started my first real job, I learned very quickly that “strategy is sexy.” How we’ve come to use the word implies that you’re smarter than the average bear, you’re on the executive track, you’re part of the illuminati and probably privileged to close-door conversations in smoke filled rooms. People want strategy as part of their job description and, far too often, I’ve seen co-workers feel slighted when told that they “only” do execution. When we all know that without execution, strategy is just a piece of paper.

Too frequently we pay brand-name “strategy firms” way too much money (I’m not even going to speculate numbers here) to help us with “strategy” and to develop strategy. But far too often, that just results in a big payout, unmet expectations, a lot of wasted time, and not a workable “strategy” to be seen.

Author’s note: It also frequently involves you then calling me – a no name, no-nonsense strategist, to help you sort that out. But that’s an article for a different day.

So, today, I’m here to break the news to you. Because we use the word strategy wrong, we overcomplicate it. We make it way more than it is, and because we overcomplicate it, we have a very hard time knowing how to create and develop strategy. Riffing off the immortal words of Justin Timberlake, I’m here to BRING STRATEGY BACK. And sexy strategy is … drumroll … SIMPLE.

What does strategy actually mean:

For most of my career, I’ve been either an in-house or external strategy consultant. Year in and year out, these are the calls I get:

Can you help me with strategy?

We have a problem with strategy.

I need to develop a strategy.

My strategy is not working.

Do those sound familiar?

The first simple question I always ask is, “What do you mean by strategy?” The answers are all over the place. They are never, honestly NEVER, consistent. Why? Because we do not use a common definition of strategy.

At its most simple, strategy is how you choose to meet your goals and objectives.

Therefore, there is no strategy without goals and objectives. And I promise you, I see a lot of “strategies” that do not include goals and objectives.

It really is that simple. Strategy is an approach. It’s an option, and it does change.

But what does that mean?

Said another way, if your goal is to go on vacation in Alabama (I highly recommend our beaches), and your objective is to do that by car, you can have multiple strategies (or approaches) to do that. You can consider the type of car, how long you want to take to get there, if you want to stop in other places, see country views or the interstate highway. You can change strategies halfway through your drive and still accomplish the same goal and objective. There are a lot of ways to get to the beach in Alabama by car. Believe me, I’ve done that drive a lot.

Apply that to work. You have a goal of developing a new product to fill a gap in your portfolio. Your objective is to provide this to your current member base using your current delivery methods.  Strategically, you can approach this in many ways. You can acquire someone else’s product, you can build your own in-house, you can use a firm to help you develop something new — and that’s only scratching the surface of your potential strategies to meet your goal and objective.

You’re telling me that strategy changes? Yes.

We all want to fix it and forget it, but that’s impossible with strategy. Because you can meet your goals and objectives in various ways, we must constantly monitor and evaluate if we’re on the right track or if we need to adjust course. There is nothing wrong with changing your strategy and adjusting your course, as long as it is done mindfully and still helps you achieve your goal and objective. Changing your strategy is a sign of good, thoughtful leadership!

So, is strategy art or science? Both.

The process of developing your goals, objectives, and strategies is science.  The process of constantly monitoring your strategic process is science.

Understanding when and how to change is art. The conversations surrounding those decisions are art.

And let me tell you, when clear definition and expectations are set up front, these strategic conversations are … SEXY!

Okay, I get it, but what can I do?

Bring sexy, simple strategy back to your credit union or organization! It starts with us! When someone asks about “strategy” — always follow up by asking, “What do you mean by that?” And then let that question open a fabulous conversation. If we don’t talk about what we think strategy actually means, then we will continue to live in a confusing, complicated (and UNSEXY!) strategic world.