Strategy, it’s said, is a visual art.  It’s the capacity to see wider and deeper and longer - and to make some decisions based on that.

One thing that gets in the way of our capacity to be strategic is to be buried too deeply in the here and the now and in nothing but your small area of expertise.  It remind me of a t-shirt I saw at Oxford about writing a PhD:  I know more and more about less and less until I know everything about nothing.

Here’s one useful source to expand your knowledge of what’s going on.  What’s Next is a free and not-overly-regular update on trends, insights and just plain interesting tidbits from the world.  Well worth subscribing to to help you keep the blinders off and open to what’s shifting under your feet.

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Before we go there, let’s start here first:  Who’s responsible for strategy?

Obviously on one level “they” are - “they” being whoever is that senior group of people in the organization that set direction.

But it’s fair to say that often…

1. No-one’s quite sure exactly who’s on the They team and who isn’t
2. There’s a bunch of different Theys
3. They haven’t done a great job at communicating the strategy
4. Things have shifted since They did

All of which boils down to this:  If you’re leaving strategy entirely in the hands of Them you may be in trouble.

And then there’s Death By Strategic Planning.

That’s when you go offsite and spend 3 days creating a document that ends plus/minus 2% different from what you did last year, gets typed up and put in a thick binder, and then gets SPOTS syndrome … Strategic Plan on Top Shelf.

I use a number of methods to help bring a strategic plan to life.  But here are two that are at the heart.

1. What’s the right mix of Great Work and Good Work?

Perhaps the simplest definition of strategy is finding the right mix between Good Work and Great Work.  Good Work being the solid, efficient, necessary, profitable work that’s required for the short-term.  Great Work being the challenging, bold, innovative, risky(er) work that’s required to thrive and survive in the longer term.

Strategic decisions are often boiled down to: Just who’s doing what tactics.  And there’s a place for that of course.  But not before you’ve asked the big question: How much Great Work are we up for?

2. What will we say No to?

When your strategic planning involves piling on more ideas and more options, you don’t have a strategy you have the perpetuation of overwhelm.

Great Work:  the focus to know what matters.  The courage to say Yes to that and No to the rest.

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I don’t think necessity is the mother of invention - invention, in my opinion, arises directly from idleness, possibly also from laziness. To save oneself trouble.
~ Agatha Christie

What a fantastic quote.  Long live laziness!  Embrace idleness!

Come on - you know, I know, we all know that we’re all working too hard.  (I am, at any rate).

As if busy-ness was something to be proud of.  I ask you:  what a dubious badge of honour THAT is!

=> What would you stop doing if you had to stop being Busy?

=> How is being busy keeping you safe?  Keeping you small?  Keeping you doing Good Work not Great Work?

=> What’s the easiest thing you could do right now?

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Tom Jones … for those that don’t know him, hip Welsh crooner famous for “What’s New Pussycat” … and a bunch of other classics.

This from a recent interview:

“What I like about that song is that I walk on and ‘make my memories’. I’m still making my memories, I’m not just thinking of old memories.”

Forget “strategic importance” and forget “impact on the world” for a moment.

It’s about what memories you’re creating.  For you.

That’s truly one measure of Great Work.

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“When you eat a fruit, think of the person who planted the tree.”
~ Vietnamese proverb

=> What tree are you planting?  What fruit do you hope it will bear?

=> What fruit are you eating?  What’s most sweet, most luscious about it?

=> What would happen if you just concentrated on eating that fruit?

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