Strategy is not planning…
Strategy is an integrated set of choices that determine where a firm should play and how it should win there.
– Roger Martin, Playing to win.
| Strategy | Planning |
|---|---|
| Strategic | Tactical/Operational |
| Long term focus | Often focused on 1 or 2 years |
| Defined by what you won't do | Defined by what you will do |
| Is explicit about what the org chooses not do and why | Doesn't usually question assumptions |
| Should be focused on competitive capabilities | Limited only by affordability |
| Involves placing "bets" and making hard choices | |
| Involves cutting off possibilities and options | |
| Involves the unknown - should not feel comfortable | A good plan feels comfortable, safe and predictable |
| Objective to increase odds of success | Objective to eliminate risk |
| Focus on unpredictiable, customer controlled, revenue | Focus on predictable, company controlled, costs |
Companies in many industries prefer a small slice of a huge market to a large slice of a small one. The thinking is, of course, that the former promises unlimited growth potential. And there’s a certain amount of truth to that. But all too often, the size of the opportunity encourages sloppy strategy making. Why choose where to play or how to win when there’s a huge market to conquer? Anybody is a potential customer, so just go out and sell stuff.
But when anyone could be a customer, it is impossible to figure out whom to target and what those people actually want. The results tend to be an offering that is not captivating to anybody and a sales force that doesn’t know where to spend its time. This is when crisp strategy making and clear thinking about opportunities are most important.
When you’re facing a huge growth opportunity, it is smarter to think sequentially: Determine what piece of the overall market to tackle first and target it precisely and relentlessly. Once you’ve achieved a dominant position in that segment, expand from there into the next, and so on.
http://hbr.org/2014/01/the-big-lie-of-strategic-planning/ar/pr