All tagged Strategy

Omerisms Podcast - Episode 131

There's an allure to the grand strategy, the flourish and ambition behind the work we do. We love the exciting, glamorous and sexy parts, because that gets noticed.

And while those aspects of our work are indeed important, of far more importance is the more detailed, granular executional work, as I discuss in today's episode.

These Are Not The Slots You're Looking For

When I started in Management Consulting, everyone wanted to do “Strategy” work. Strategy was sexy. It was glamorous. It was something to brag about. Newly minted Analysts and Associates would jostle for pole position to be part of those teams.

And make no mistake, Strategy work was interesting and fun. But, for the most part, that wasn’t what paid the bills.

You Are Not A "Technology Company"

"We're a technology company that happens to be in Home Loans."

I heard a CEO say this on TV recently and I have to say, it irked me. Is that what his company did? They delivered ‘technology’? What the hell does that mean? Isn’t tech a means to an end, and not the end in and of itself? Does his company exist to knit together bits and bytes and provide hardware or software?

Do You Have The Right To Play There?

If you’re going to be in business, then you can only be in business to solve problems.

What I mean by that is that you aren’t doing what you do to simply ‘do work’, or to run a business (for all of the budding entrepreneurs out there).

You’re doing what you do because it helps your customer tackle a specific issue, something that they’re willing to pay good money (or some other form of consideration) to have tackled.

The Point Of (And Problem With) Accelerants

There's a trend line that we all live through in any endeavor we’re a part of. That trend line can be positive or negative but it’s a constant - there’s no question that there is no such thing as a ‘permanent’ status quo, that things will inevitably progress in some direction to a redefined (temporary) equilibrium.

Most of the time that trend line is drawn out over some material period of time. If we are on the ascent, that ascent can continue for years, driven by a mix of factors both internally driven and externally influenced.

Owning Your Ground

In my last post, I talked about the importance of avoiding stasis in your strategy, that being comfortable with the middle ground is a straight path to irrelevance. Maybe not today, but certainly someday.

So a response - an active, progressive strategy to do something is absolutely essential. It’s essential to be on the front foot and proactively define a clear plan for continued success.

That doesn’t, however, have to mean going after the big boys head-to-head. It doesn’t necessarily mean trying to become THE market leader. 

Stasis Is Not A Strategy

We tend to think of the middle ground as a safe space to be in. You’re not out on a limb at the bleeding edge, but you’re also not trailing the pack. There’s no bloodthirsty Coke versus Pepsi battle at play, but you’re also not spending your days fighting for survival. 

It’s tempting to get comfortable there. You simply play your position, fight with other ‘middle of the road’ brands and focus on the ‘middle of the road’ customers

Some Things Don’t Change

I was thinking about the Dotcom era of the late 90s and the euphoria that gripped the markets for those few years as stocks climbed to record breaking levels.

The news of the day was engaged in a fevered debate - were we in a new era, one where the old models had become hopelessly outdated? Or was this simply another fad, not unlike Dutch Tulips, a bubble that would burst in due course, once we all came to our senses?