There are only two problems in business and in life.
- What do you want?
- How do you get it?
This provides a simple framework for your strategic focus—the strategy of your strategy—this year.
Figure: A simple framework for the strategy of your strategy
If you don’t know what you want, and you don’t know how to get it, you simply need a new strategy. Move quickly: The longer you’re drifting, the more difficult it will be to find a safe harbor.
If you know what you want, but don’t know how to get it, you need innovation, especially focused on generating options to make your vision a reality. Think of the current drive to switch to alternative forms of energy: A lot of new, feasible ideas are required to have an even remote chance to be successful.
If you don’t know what you want, but know how to get it, you have a solution, looking for a problem. Examples are often found in start-ups, such as blockchain technology. This requires extra effort in marketing: Where will your new product or service create most value?
Finally, if you know what you want, and know how to get it, you require a massive boost in execution power: This will help you to achieve your goals in the fastest way possible. Think of Tesla, which recently required a big dose of execution power to get out of production hell.
This leads to two important questions for you to consider at the start of 2019:
- Which one of these four areas—strategy, marketing, innovation, or execution power—is most important for you right now?
- Who in your organization is working on this?
Photo Credit: iStockPhoto/Bombaert