Your Strategy Sucks

Why does your strategy suck?

Every business venture starts with a strategy. It's the blueprint, the guiding star, the map you follow. But let's be honest: many media, marketing, and business strategies miss the mark. If you find your strategies failing or struggling to make an impact, there's a high likelihood they're not concrete enough.

Sly Bailey, formerly CEO of Trinity Mirror, shared a golden nugget of wisdom: “If there is one thing I have learned about communicating choices, it is that we always focus on what the choices are. I now realise you have to spend at least as much time on explaining the logic behind the choices.”

This insight is critical. Strategies, by definition, aren't just about declaring intentions; they're about making deliberate decisions. The heart of any effective strategy lies in its clarity. A strategy without distinct choices is like a ship without a rudder; it's bound to drift aimlessly.

A prevalent mistake businesses make is confusing goals with strategies. Consider the claim, “We want to be the number one or number two in all the markets in which we operate”. That's a goal, not a strategy. It's vague, lacks direction, and offers no roadmap on how to achieve it.

To craft a strategy that stands the test of time and yields tangible results, it must encompass a clear set of choices. It's not about ticking boxes but determining the path the company will take and, equally crucial, what paths it won't.

In sum, your strategy might suck because it's clouded in ambiguity. But by focusing on clear choices and the logic behind them, you'll pave the way for a successful journey.