What’s your grocery carrying strategy?
A cocktail party perspective on resilient strategy design.
Strategic Designer: For example, what’s your grocery carrying strategy? Both of you?
Goldman Sachs Exec: What do you mean?
Strategic Designer: I mean everyone has a general strategy for carrying the groceries inside from the store. Do you use both hands and set down a bag or bags to get the keys and unlock the door? Do you use one hand and to carry bags and one for keys? How does that change based on the total number of bags? Etcetera etcetera.
Product Manager, Facebook: Well I’ve certainly never given it much thought, but I suppose I use both hands and try to have the keys in one of my grips.
Goldman: Same.
Designer: Are the bags ever too heavy or you’ve mis-held the keys and now struggle to get the right arrangement or grip to unlock the door?
Goldman: Definitely.
Facebook: Yeah for sure.
Designer: Isn’t that frustrating?
Facebook: Yeah, but it isn’t too big a deal. I get over it quickly.
Goldman: It annoys me to no end.
Designer: Well that’s how strategy plays out at most companies that do not consider resiliency. Think of it this way. You go to the grocery store with the immediate end goal of bringing those goods home with you. You make decisions regarding which goods to buy, which kind of bags (paper or plastic) to place them in (if at all), how to balance the bag loads effectively, which route to walk either from the car or directly home, how many bags you’ll be carrying if you drove, and which hand to hold the keys (if at all) or even worse which pocket to put them in for easy access. Bags can rip, hands can get tired, boogie men can pop out from corners (do we have/need a defensive hand), and we can get frustrated. Designed resiliency takes these possibilities and frailties into consideration so we minimize risk and maximize effectiveness despite the possible negative externalities.
Goldman: So you’re saying there is a be all end all method of grocery carrying? Don’t leave us on edge without sharing your great theory of grocery handling strategy!
Designer: Not at all. The strategy only applies on a case by case basis. If you’re buying three jugs of milk per trip to the grocery store good luck ever having an effective strategy, but that decision can and should be included in your thought process. Having a real need for three jugs of milk means you should probably uber or drive yourself and then modifications need to be made accordingly along the rest of your journey.
Facebook: So how on earth does this apply to us?
Goldman: Yeah, my board doesn’t exactly care about how I get my groceries home safe.
Designer: Remember the financial crisis? Sub-prime mortgage lending was a strategy, and quite frankly it was a strategy that worked incredibly well to increase profits for the majority of Wall Street including your firm. However, it all collapsed because it was built on unsustainable activity. In other words it was most certainly NOT a resilient strategy to the desired purpose of maximizing profits. You took a hit and so did every other bank on Wall St. when the loans started defaulting.
Facebook: Yeah it seems like you should be all about resilient strategy making Goldman. You sank the entire economy!
Goldman: Not funny.
Designer: Maybe I can help ease your pain Goldman. Facebook, you could also use resilient strategy! Just look how many times Zuckerberg has testified in Congress. Do you really think the revenue models you’re pursuing will work long term? The first big shock you could have been prepared for was privacy.
Facebook: Hey there are other firms…
Designer: Let me stop you there. Facebook has Billions with a B number of users. You guys kind of started it all. Trying to hide in the shadow of your successors shows a lack of foresight and accountability that should have been built into your model of selling user data. End of story. Look to right now with the questions of advertising. Are Russian trolls ONLY on Facebook? No, but they ARE on Facebook and you stand to profit from it. Is that a sustainable strategy? I’d argue not. The short sightedness of Facebook has been around since its inception, and without the help of someone like me it’ll stay.
Facebook: Well aren’t you just a delight at this cocktail party.
Goldman: Seriously.
Designer: You asked what someone like me can do for your company somewhat smugly, so I gave you the honest truth. The great news is your bosses invited me here, and my client work for both of you starts Monday. Have a great weekend!
