Day 21 of #FabulousFebruary: STRATEGIZE

Everybody has a different meaning of the word "strategy". We may see it as a big, imposing topic, that takes long to design and implant. Strategy is often seen as something only really smart people can do. Strategy is also one of the most misused substantives. It is often used as a synonym of creating a plan, or working with a specific structure...

But we can give a very simple definition:

Strategy is making hard decisions about what we will do and what we won't.

Of course, strategizing is not simple, otherwise we would all be successful right away. But honestly, when I first heard this explanation, it helped me a lot to understand what's behind the concept.

We can't do everything

A common mistake is to think that we can do everything. If we try this, we will always fall short. Why? Becuase we have a limited amount of resources (time, money, material...). So we have to invest our resources in the best way possible. Or better said, design our strategy.

What helps: If we take a look at all the resources we have, we can start seeing trade-offs.

• Should I study full-time for 1 year and get no income, or get a job and study after work for 3 years?
• Do I want to reach a lot of people with a cheap product, or do I want focus on a small audience that really need my product to make progress in their lives?
• Do I deliver an unfinished work on time, or ask for an extension of the deadline?

All of these questions have a lot of implications. Some of these implications are obvious (If i study 3 years and make money in the meanwhile, I can pay my rent). But others may not be as certain (what if the education in a year from now, but not in 3 years?).

Strategy and Uncertainty

We sometimes feel too much pressure in choosing THE ONLY RIGHT strategy. But the future is uncertain. We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. We can choose something that is indeed successful, under the right circumstances. But we don't know which circumstances we will face.

Sometimes a bad decision is better than no decision.

Who can strategize?

Everybody can choose what's best for them (we actually choose and prioritize every day, consciously or unconsciously).

Together we are definitely stronger. Our best personal strategical thoughts can always benefit from getting advice from people around us:

• A diversity of thoughts and attitudes
• People who have experienced failure as well as success.
• People who can envision possible future scenarios.
• Skeptical people are also great advisors: We tend to feel judged by people around us. Instead, we should invite them to give their opinion on our strategy. We may ignore their opinion afterwards, but we will always learn.

Who do we get the worst strategical advise from? People close to us who just want to cheer us up, and not challenge our perpection. Beware of that! If you haven’t seen this video, check it out!

Now let’s turn the lens on you:

In which fields do you need to make a strategy? Do you strategize on your own or with others? When is the time to change your strategy?

I hope you are having a #FabulousFebruary!