Have you seen a "Strategy" document that is like a dense forest of words? It's clear that a lot of work went into making it, but it's so hard to understand that it's impossible to sum it up quickly. This can make people lose trust in the leaders because they don't seem to know what they want to do.
A good strategy reflects the image below, it has a clear future goal, it calls out the major obstacles preventing us from getting there and shows us where we currently are.
Existential questions to help create strategy.
- Why are we here?
- Why does the company exist?
- What does the work in the organization connect to?
- Why should people give their energy and attention to the business?
- Why would customers choose us?
- What do people get when working here?
- What do we want to achieve?
- What do we want to be known for?
- What is the usage data telling us?
- Where should we participate and with what?
- Which parts of the industry are declining or growing?
- If this team suddenly no longer existed, what gap would it leave?
Finally
In every business, there are many problems that need to be fixed. But it's important to only tackle the ones that stop your goals from happening first.
Having an overarching strategy is not enough, identify how the individuals within the team grow as part of achieving the goal.
You know you’ve been successful when every person in your team knows exactly how their work builds towards achieving the common goal.
see How We Should Work for some of my thoughts on this.
When you know exactly what you want to achieve, it's important to stay focused and organized. This will help you make steady progress and reach your goal.