Beyond the Brick Wall
December 2009Here is a quote from a recent book review section of a business publication. “In a year when the market value of the fortune 500 fell by 37 percent and profits plummeted by 85 percent, conventional strategy books seem beside the point.”
It’s pretty easy to get wrapped around current challenges and forget about creating a unique competitive advantage. I am not a fan of many “conventional strategy books”, not because strategy is irrelevant, as the quote above seems to suggest, and not because they are dull—though most are not written like a Nelson DeMille novel, but rather because they are often theoretical and leave you no roadmap for how to craft and manage strategy. When you want to know how to throw a grenade, you read the Guidebook for Marines not War and Peace.
I have recently been involved with a company that has no clearly articulated strategy or vision. They also have some significant financial challenges. However, the senior team is asking, “Where are we going?” (see Even Super Heroes Need Direction). They know that good execution must happen to get to the future, but execute “what”? Cash must be conserved and some cuts must be made, but products can’t be developed overnight and adding new customer groups in a willy-nilly fashion (e.g. without correct brand strategy, positioning, and market planning) leads to later pruning of “non-strategic” customers. Long-term issues must continue to be addressed.
If you have no vision, which products do you develop? Which customers do you go after? There is evidence that companies that aggressively forge ahead rather than hunker down can create a significant competitive advantage (see "Hanging Tough", The New Yorker). It has been fun and rewarding to help them run through the minefield of current problems, but also make sure that we identify where we are running to by starting to craft a clear vision.
A friend used to say, “You don’t worry much about lung cancer when your car is heading for a brick wall!” However, talented executives must know how to hold both short term viability and long term success in their minds at the same time.
Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!