Strategy is the pinnacle of business
The pride and joy of ambitious people
Strategy is, in fact, nothing
Not really
Strategy is some form of plan
That is believed by the members of the endeavour
To give the endeavour the highest chance of success
Or, to put it more simply:
Strategy is an agreed upon goal
And an agreed upon set of limitations to achieve that goal
The trick of strategy is not defining a goal that is super unique.
It is not about exactly understanding the market, and pinning down the ‘gap in the market’.
It is simply about stakeholder management
Setting a goal
Aligning on that goal
Which sometimes means massaging ego’s
Which sometimes means giving a super analytical overwhelming presentation
Which sometimes means bringing in a super charismatic leader who’s “done it before”
Which sometimes means a stuffing down the throat of a goal
But always it should mean
Understanding how someone else might interpret a goal
Be concerned about a goal
And re-adjust the definition of that goal from their perspective and concerns
Without the goal becoming less sharp