In A.G. Lafley & Roger Martin’s seminal book on strategy, “Playing to Win,” they define strategy as “making specific choices to win in the marketplace.” On the surface it may seem a bit simplistic, but put into practice it’s immensely powerful.
In my work with companies, I often find that strategy is not defined clearly enough to help make real choices. There are two common traps at opposite extremes. Either strategy is so aspirational and generic that it allows for almost anything. Or it’s a set of financial metrics (ex. margin, value creation, etc.) that provides clarity on financial outcomes, but is almost useless in providing guidance on how to achieve them.
In short, a key symptom of a poorly defined strategy is when it allows us to say “yes” to too much. In fact, if strategy is about “making choices,” we should expect to say “yes” to a few important priorities and “no” to everything else. Therefore I’d propose that the acid test of your strategy is its ability to help you say “no.”
Specifically: when was the last time you said “no” because of your strategy? To make it come alive, here’s what it could sound like:
- We will not sell to this prospect because of _____ (strategic reason)
- We are not quoting on this job because of _____ (strategic reason)
- We do not compete on _____ (strategic reason)
- We will not invest in _____ because of (strategic reason)
How often does your strategy help you answer any of the above?
If it’s not often, it may be a sign you need to sharpen your strategy so it goes from being “unemployed” to “doing its job” – i.e. making specific choices that help you win!
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Good perspective! I may need to look for opportunities to say no more often to ensure that my personal and business strategies are ‘fully employed’!
Loved this article as it truly resonates with where I am in my current business. Truly we WANT to help everyone with whatever our God gifted talents are called. However, not everyone is a client. Therefore when we introspectively are honest within ourselves and know exactly what type of people/customers we want to service in our business this will lead to more like on like referrals and so grows the business. Being able to say NO will set you free. Remember, ” Good can become the enemy of best” very quickly if we overcommit to things and people. Appreciate the post. Blessings to you guys