Business 4.0
Why We Misunderstand Strategy By: Andrea Belk Olson, CEO of Pragmadik
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trategy is a term bantered around a bit too much. We apply it to almost everything within business to subconsciously create an air of legitimacy and value to our actions. Creating a marketing plan? No, it's a strategic marketing plan. Designing a hiring process? Hell no - it's a strategic hiring process. But the real question is - are these things actually strategic? Just because we think things through and outline a detailed plan of activities and tactics does not a strategy make. Nor is a strategy a replication of what your competitors are doing. It's also not what would be considered "un-stupid" - meaning, if what you propose is obviously logical and the antithesis would be simply stupid, it's not
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10 IMD OCTOBER 2021
a strategy. For example, if you are a for-profit company and your strategic objective is to be profitable - well, that's un-stupid. Strategy is hard. Strategy forces you to figure out not only who and where you're focusing your efforts on, but also how you'll approach creating value in a differentiating and unique way. There are hundreds (if not thousands) of processes that can guide you in creating a strategy, but just riding a bike, it takes practice before you're good at it. Just like you can't simply read a manual on riding a bike and then simply ride one, strategy is the same way. In addition, strategy is frequently misunderstood. It often is boiled down to a "strategic planning month" or a series of "strategic
