A result is not a strategy

What is the difference between a strategy and a result? ‘Reducing churn rate’, ‘increasing market share’, ‘successfully entering a new market’ are not strategies. They are results.

A strategy is a narrative, a collection of assumptions and decisions strung together on why we are doing things and how, in order to deliver wanted results.

e.g.: in a world that looks like x we can do y in order to reach [result].

A strategy is a set of assumptions. Why assumptions? Because a strategy includes elements outside of the company’s control. E.g. competitors and customers. And if we can’t control them we have to guess, assess or assume what they will do in the future.

(If our strategy only includes what we can control we are writing a plan, not a strategy (1)). 🛠️

It’s very hard to motivate people around results, because we’re not telling them why we need to be doing things or what their role is. We are just suggesting a desired end state.

With a strategy we make sense of our surroundings (preferably together(2)). We build on the shared competencies we have (3), work together and achieve something together.

If the strategy:
❌ Fails to garner any enthusiasm
❌ Fails to help people understand what they are going to do
❌ Fails at strengthening a shared effort

Then it might be because it’s not a strategy, but a set of results. 📈

(And to paraphrase Roger Martin: everyone has a strategy, they might not have put it into words, but the reasoning behind their actions is due to a set of signals and consequences which make up what they think the world looks like and how to act on it (4)).

A strategy should include a shared understanding of why and what we are acting on, how we are going to win and what the desired outcomes are [result].

(A strategy should also be responsive to the outside world, needs continuous updating and experimentation (5)).

Links:
(1). Roger Martin, A plan is not a strategy, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iuYlGRnC7J8

(2). Mary Parker Follet, the giving of orders, https://180360720.no/_resources/mary_parker_follett_the_giving_of_orders.pdf

(3). Mark Lipton, Walking the talk, https://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/walking-the-talk-really-why-visions-fail/

(4). Roger Martin, Where to start with strategy, https://rogermartin.medium.com/where-to-start-with-strategy-bae40506304c

(5). Helge Tennø, Strategy needs experimentation, https://medium.com/everything-new-is-dangerous/strategy-needs-experimentation-146805986a73