Rethinking Strategy: Who Creates It?

Photo: Felix Mittermeier via Unsplash

I’ve worked in strategy for a long time and my thinking has evolved over the years. And it continues to evolve.

Much of what we believe about strategy predates the internet. It’s from a time when business moved slowly and information was scarce. Some of it goes back to early industrialization.

We study models created by academics, company case studies, billionaire biographies, books with intriguing titles, and lessons learned from government and sports, and plug them into our operation, even though the context may be different. We repeat what we’ve been taught and follow the leader.

Maybe that’s fine. Perhaps we should stick with the old “tried and true”. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

However, it’s worth questioning conventional wisdom. As just about every aspect of business is changing, maybe how we think about strategy should change as well.

This is the first article in a series on rethinking strategy. Today we’ll look at who creates strategy.

Who Creates Strategy?

The C-suite, board, and perhaps a few consultants, go to an annual off site where strategy is born. Then they come down from the mountain and enlighten the masses.

These people run the show. They’re smart and have the big picture. Their job descriptions make them responsible for strategy, so it makes sense they develop it, right?

I see a couple problems with this. First, they do have a big picture, but might not understand all the puzzle pieces that form it. They have a valuable perspective, but probably don’t have daily contact with customers like the salespeople and cashiers do. They don’t go on services calls, operate the help desk, negotiate with suppliers, or repair the machines. These frontline people see things top leadership doesn’t.

There may be employees with useful ideas learned in other companies and industries. Those who have been involved with strategy in previous jobs. People who read, study, code, research, and write on their own time.

Such employees, as well as customers, suppliers, and other stakeholders, are assets. They’re sensing and analyzing issues crucial to the company that don’t show up on management’s dashboards.

I’m not suggesting they all get invited to the strategy retreat; there’s not enough fruit cups and cheese trays for that. However, their insights and perspectives should be collected on an ongoing basis for strategic consideration.

Talk to people. Use surveys and anonymous submission methods. Get the valuable intelligence out of their heads and use it to inform strategy.

Don’t expect any single person to have the complete answer. May won’t respond if asked specifically about strategy, but they will share elements reflecting ground truth and could illuminate opportunities, risks, and possibilities.

This also creates buy in. I’ve seen situations where the boss says, “Here’s my strategy”. That doesn’t inspire ownership across the company. Yeah, they’ll play along since they like to eat, but their hearts might not be in it. It is; however, better that what’s seen in other companies where nobody outside the inner circle is aware of the strategy. And they wonder why it fails in execution.

Engage the team. Harness their talent and brainpower. Make them co-creators. You might not use all their ideas, but you’ll learn something and they’ll feel appreciated. If they feel they had a hand in the strategy they’re more likely to understand and support it.

This also facilitates transparency. We live in a time of layoffs, reorganizations, mergers, streamlining, and automation. When the C-suite heads off to secret meetings anxiety can soar. People fill in the gaps with their imagination. And it doesn’t get better when nothing’s passed on or people get buzzword-filled gobbledygook. If you want people to trust you, communicate and be honest with them.

I don’t have all the answers here, but I do have plenty of questions. I hope this makes you think of a few yourself.