Strategy. What’s your definition of the word?
It’s one of those words that gets bandied about in development conversations.
It has a weight to it. A certain gravitas. It sounds good.
It frequently gets thrown in the marketing and operational mix, for no apparent reason, and arguably out-of-context.
Which could mean that the person(s) deploying the word are just using it as fluff, to waffle.
Let’s give this dynamic the benefit of the doubt, though.
Let’s assume that those uttering the word have a clear understanding of its meaning, and its correct use.
But this in turn suggests that the word has multiple meanings in circulation.
So now, does that make ‘strategy’ a verbally abused word?
If that’s the case, it’s not good. We humans think strategically, don’t we? We should try to properly get our arms around it, yes?
In my leadership roles for organizations during the course of my career, when the buck truly stopped at my desk, i.e. I had to keep the ship afloat, I have been instrumental in bringing several organizations to a better place. There had to be strategy involved, and yet I don’t remember every having been told, or adhered to, a clear definition of the word. I think I was always operating on instinct, a introspective sense of what an organization was really all about.
Of late, I’ve gotten more serious about what strategy really means, so I can help more businesses at once, rather than one after another.
In this way, I’ve homed in on what strategy means to me. Benefitting from the teachings of others, I’ve adopted this approach as my guide.
But I’d like to hear what you believe it to mean.
Different perspectives are always of value.
So, again, what is your definition of the word strategy? And can you say it with conviction? Or is it fluff?
I dare you to provide it. Here.
Are you up to this Shantalla challenge??