1. Strategy and Value Exchange: A strength viewed from another angle may look like a weakness. And vice versa.
Starting strategy development with an internal analysis is like beginning product development with its packaging.
Many strategies are an unfortunate tradeoff between internal strengths and external opportunities.
Crafting a strategy ‘inside out’ is possible.
But we may overlook many other possibilities.
We need to create new strengths and opportunities, not just use the ones we have.
We should start with a big external problem we want to solve. Then, we can turn this into a strategic opportunity.
And only then should we look at our strengths.
What looks like a strength in light of one opportunity can look like a weakness for another.
A small company doesn’t have resources, but it may be nimble.
A big company may have a big brand, but a brand is not only an asset; it’s also a liability.
Strategy starts with looking outside, not inside.
2. Strategy-related terms: Projects without processes breed problems
Picture source
If a strategy is merely a list of projects, it risks becoming nothing more than a wish list.
Strategies often look like lists of development projects.
But in most companies, employees’ daily routines are centered around processes.
When the leaders add projects to these routines, employees can get confused:
[1] They don’t have enough resources to handle both [2] They’re unsure which processes need to changeYou’ll have fewer issues with implementing your strategy if you visualize your company as a process map and highlight the processes needing change to support your strategic projects.
Check out my book Red and Yellow Strategies: Flip Your Strategic Thinking and Overcome Short-termism here. An audio version is also available!
3. Trend of the week: On is Learning to Spray Sneakers & Teens Afraid to Drive
The sneaker brand On presents a shoe that is made with a spray and feels more like a sock.
A machine sprays the laceless sneaker’s upper part, which feels more like a sock, onto a foot-shaped mold.
On promotes the technology as ‘greener’ than others.
“In a traditional product you have 200 pairs of hands, in this one you basically have only a few,” said Marc Maurer, On’s co-chief executive.
The main hurdle on the road to success for the technology is price. Cloudboom Strike LS, a lightweight shoe by On, costs $300 a pair.
The Slow Futures newsletter reports another trend: over the last 25 years, the proportion of teenagers in the UK who can drive has decreased by 50%, while the proportion of over 70s who can drive has doubled.
Fewer teenagers dream about having a car than 25 years ago.
It happens not because it is expensive or ‘not green’ (fewer than 4% of teenagers mention ecology).
There are new barriers. Many aren’t interested in driving.
Quote: “For those living in cities, or who are shifting more social interaction online, learning to drive and owning a car simply might not be worth the hassle.”
Health is another growing reason. “The proportion of people citing ‘physical difficulties or disabilities or health problems’ is small, but increased on 2009. Finally, safety concerns, or nervousness about driving, is a rapidly growing barrier, especially for the youngest non drivers.”
Do you use trend analysis when crafting your strategy?
Do you play foresight games before you begin your strategic journey?
Svyatoslav Biryulin
Download the second free checklist Serving Strategy Pyramid here. The first one, the Ultimate Strategy Checklist, is also waiting for you in the same folder.
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Read also: Nothing Leads to Long-Term Problems Like Short-Term Thinking
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