How to Succeed Where Strategy Is a Bad Thing

In many circles, "strategy" has become a bad word, right up there with "creativity," "innovation," and even "thinking." There clearly are business people who see strategy as mucking up getting things done. For them, strategy is perceived as simply adding time, cost, and complexity. It’s viewed as an impediment to running a business successfully. And by “successfully,” I mean “by the seat of their pants.”

To try getting a toehold for introducing a strategic perspective in these environments, we talk about strategy at Brainzooming as "addressing what matters with insight and innovation.”

It's tough for executives to argue against the "what matters" part, especially when making a case for something tactical as REALLY important. It forces them to put up or shut up if an idea is more of a pet project than a fundamental business issue.

Granted, "insight" is a little easier to sell-in than innovation; people don't want to be "dumb" about the work they're doing even when they're willing to accept a "status quo" mindset.

The clear implication the past few years is the simpler and more straightforward the definitions, process, and deliverables of strategy creation and implementation are, the more likely something successful will happen. – Mike Brown