Avoid the pitfalls of no strategy or bad strategy in your business

It’s a sad fact that, in business, good strategy is rare.

For example, when 26 CEOs of some of the world’s largest electronics companies were asked about strategy by Anderson Consulting, they were less than clear:

“They were making alliances, they were doing 360-degree feedback, they were looking for foreign markets, they were setting challenging strategic goals, they were moving software into firmware…”

Not really a coherent set of actions.

A long list of things to do or a set of objectives is often called a ‘strategic plan’, but these are normally written down at planning meetings and generally do not identify or deal with the biggest and most important challenges facing the business.

In business, as in battle, in sport or in a game of chess, having no strategy or a bad strategy means losing.

In his book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, Richard Rumelt stated that “the term ‘strategy’ should mean a cohesive response to an important challenge.”

Have you ever sat down with your team and identified the biggest challenge facing your business and then focused on actions to overcome it?

Remember – a good strategy can help your business survive and thrive. A bad strategy or no strategy puts your business at risk, so be sure to avoid the 3 major attributes of a bad strategy.