We’re taking a slightly different tack this week – I want to get you guys thinking about strategy for your businesses and to offer help in this process for anyone needing it.
Let’s get to it…
Number one of the five strategy rules we looked at last week goes a little like this:
Start with a vision of where you want to go… once you’ve clearly defined this, then explore in great detail just what it means.
Here’s a snappier way of putting this – look forward and reason back. The rationale here is simple. You need to be relentlessly focussed on the future and the change it will bring.
Strategy Rules: Five Timeless Lessons from Bill Gates, Andy Grove, and Steve Jobs gives guidance on how you could start to look forward and reason back:
- What is your vision of the future? Try building it twenty years ahead, if that’s too hard then start at ten (or even five).
- Once you have a view of the future, can you define your boundaries and priorities?
- What will the customer needs be in the future – how does this match to your capabilities? What do you need to build, buy, or partner with?
- What are your competitors doing? Don’t just think of current competitors, but also, those in adjacent markets who could interrupt you in the future.
- If you were building your business from scratch today how would you design it? (And remember… someone somewhere is doing this even as you read)
- What barriers can you build to lock competition out and customers in? (Hint : they are unlikely to be those serving you today)
To get you going here are some pointers we’ve already covered over the last year:
- Schedule time for innovation
- Start with the vision – why does your organisation exist, and is it still valid in the future?
- Are your barriers to entry really protecting you in tomorrow’s world?
- It may be an overused word, but if it can be digitised it can be disrupted
- Don’t constrain your thoughts : Think BIG, focus on where your exponential growth is going to come from
- Think beyond your current business horizon
- Think about your customers of tomorrow not just your existing customers
- Beware of constraints created by entrenched internal world views and samples of one, use outside help
- Technology will change everything, mobile is now mainstream
Remember, value is always temporary…. recognising that can be scary or it can fill you with excitement at the endless possibility. It’s your choice,
If you need any help we would love to be part of your process. Get in touch and drop me a line at kursten@exponential.agency.
KS
