"Doing Things" Without a Strategy: Does it Work?

Recently I saw a post on LinkedIn from Edward Crossin:

As a strong proponent of strategy I was compelled to strongly disagree. It's fine for a guy like Herb Kelleher to make this claim, given he is the co-founder of a business that was founded in 1967. In 1967 there was none of what we are faced with in business today. The businesses that won were the ones with the loudest and most provocative presence (ever seen Mad Men?). Doing things worked! I would go as far as to say that until recently doing things was a great strategy because the book of how to make a successful business was pretty short. They didn't have to consider multi-channel, lean-in, social media, customer experience, technology, digital disruption, big and widdle data, and all these other fucking things we have to worry about in 2018 (damn it). They just had to make the best sounding commercial and they were even allowed to lie about it.

In fact, doing things still works as a viable strategy for businesses with the power and brand of Southwest Airlines. The brand itself, and the years of refining systems means they are running a business that will grow and succeed in spite of itself. There are tons of businesses out there like this. I touched on this in another recent article when talking about KFC.

So if you are one of the lucky people who heads up the marketing or operations for a business that already has a household name brand and has been successfully operating since 1967 I would say, yes, doing things without a strategy is okay. You'll probably do just fine.

I also say that you probably actually have a strategy in place already it's just so ingrained in the systems and processes of your businesses you can't even see it. Being Southwest Airlines is the strategy. Doing things that Southwest Airlines does is the strategy.

When Does Just Doing Things Not Work?

If you are starting a new business without a strategy your chance of success is low. If you have an innate understanding of the tactics required to formulate a launch campaign and you are a small and niche enterprise, maybe you can make some noise without a well developed strategy. More likely you probably still have a strategy, it's just as simple as "employ Steve who knows how to make this work". Sometimes the strategy can really be that simple.

However there are some consistent business scenarios that genuinely require a strategy.

• There are successful competitors in the market you are trying to enter - You're going to need to at the very least analyse them to identify their strengths and weaknesses, as well as the market itself to identify if there is even room for you in it. Not being strategic in this scenario can be heartbreaking.
• You have plans for rapid and large scale growth - Yes! You can just take out a $20,000 bank loan and throw it all on a Google Adwords campaign and get some leads, but without taking the time to strategise how do you know that there wasn't a better way to spend that $20,000?
• You want to make something really meaningful. This is your life's work. You're gonna make a difference! You're gonna be somebody kid! - This is the most obvious. If you truly care about what you're doing then strategy is absolutely key. If this is your life's work you can't afford to get it wrong or kill the business by making a mistake that strategising would have prevented.
• You have SMART goals - When I am helping someone with a strategy I demand these. They are page one of any of my strategies and similarly if you have them already then you have to think and strategise of ways to actually achieve them. If you don't have SMART goals ie. your goal is "get enough salary out of the business to be able to take the kids to Moreton Island once a month" or you just have no goals at all, then sure you can afford to not be strategic and just do stuff I guess. Who cares if you don't?
• You have stopped growing and you cannot figure out why or your growth is not on par with your goals and expectations - This is when stopping and defining or redefining a strategy can be of benefit even to brands like Southwest Airlines. If you don't strategise in this scenario it is usually the precursor to the demise of the business totally. So too is the initiation of a BAD strategy, so in this business scenario not just any strategist will do, you need one of very high quality.

Why Edward and Herb are Right

Shocker! I actually do agree with Edward and Herb. Strategy is overrated. Doing stuff is underrated. In my opinion a strategy should be short, simple and organic (that is to say that it should just naturally exist, should just be obvious and have evolved out of analysis and discussion). All stakeholders should be able to understand it and it should feel right to everyone. When strategy sets the business agenda (all tactics or "doing of things" come from the strategy) and it sucks then you are about to fail miserably. The strategy has to be very good (duh). It also has to be constantly analysed to see if it's working and if it isn't, it needs to be modified or tossed away. The same applies for the strategist themselves. Yes, just toss them away. Pick them up and toss them. It'll feel great.

In my opinion doing things should even come first in most cases. When I am trying to create strategies, whether it's at large scale like a business, brand or marketing strategy or just trying to give one of my team a strategy intended to help them achieve personal KPIs over a quarter, I will usually first ask for performance reports of various descriptions. Understanding what the company are doing right and wrong already is very important for the creation of a good strategy.

Ensuring the Strategy Doesn't Suck

There are a lot of strategists out there that suck. There are a lot of strategists that aren't even strategists. A lot of people who are trying to fake it til they make it in the digital and startup community will stick strategist on their LinkedIn bio and start posting inspirational quotes and memes. Good strategists can create shit strategies. Finding, hiring or contracting the right strategist is very important and the right strategist will tell you that the strategy is pointless without the doing.

Choosing the right person to create your strategy is just hiring or procuring. The only difference is it's more important than normal because it affects the business at scale. You might survive hiring the wrong person if they are a junior executive or something but hiring the wrong person to handle strategy is catastrophic.

Hire slower, exhaust all avenues, and if the strategy presented to you feels wrong (as per the aforementioned organic) it probably is. If they sound like they are talking shit then they probably are. Trust your gut. Nobody knows your business like you do. Toss it out, chalk it up to a bad hiring or procurement decision and find someone else.

The Entire Premise of this Article is Absolutely Stupid

"Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat." - Sun Tzu

Come on! This is one of the most famous quotes in the history of quotes! Doing things is just another way of saying tactics. Strategy and tactics exist to service each other. One is not better than the other.