Embarking on the CEO's Odyssey: Mastering the Art of Strategy

Figuring out what your company does is harder than it sounds.

If the first secret to your success as a CEO is akin "setting the sails correctly," then the second secret is akin to a navigator’s detailed chart: crafting a crystal-clear strategy. This isn't just about plotting a course on a map; it's about skillfully navigating your company through the unpredictable seas of competition. It's about deftly maneuvering through the swirling currents of market challenges, catching the right winds of opportunity, and steering with precision to reach the destination.?

The most astute CEOs I've encountered are like seasoned captains; they know their ship (their company) inside out. They can spot the North Star of opportunity in even the stormiest of business seas. And while it seems like a no-brainer (of course, a CEO should know what their company does), this knowledge is hard-earned, and often takes years to acquire. To succeed, a CEO must grasp the nuances of the marketplace dynamics and crystallize this into a clear vision and attainable mission. This then guides every aspect of the company’s operations, from product development to marketing to sales. Everyone in the company is looking at you as the CEO to set the “course.”

So where to begin??

When I first started at Harvard Business School, business strategy seemed to me to be a mystical, almost arcane art. In our first-year course, Competition and Strategy, we delved into the theories of many of the top strategic thinkers such as Michael Porter, whose Competitive Strategy was a seminal text. Analyzing case studies using Porter's five forces felt like decoding ancient runes that could unlock the secrets of business success. But the real world, as I soon discovered, was a far cry from the neat frameworks of the classroom.

My ongoing journey through business strategy literature over the years hasn't revealed a singular 'magic formula,' but for tech CEOs seeking to hone their strategy, I recommend these essentials:?

• Clayton M. Christensen's The Innovator's Dilemma (1997) is a Silicon Valley playbook, showing how smaller, resourceful companies can disrupt larger ones by targeting overlooked sectors and scaling up.?
• Blue Ocean Strategy (2005) by W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne urges CEOs to create new market spaces, or “blue oceans,” instead of vying in saturated “red oceans.” It emphasizes the importance of innovation being rooted in a jointly created value exchange for both the company and its customers. If you get this right, you can make the competition irrelevant, at least for some time.?
• Additionally, I would recommend any of Geoffrey Moore's books but would suggest Crossing the Chasm as a must-read for software CEOs. In this book, Moore focuses on the challenges of marketing high-tech products, especially when trying to move from success with early adopters to a broader mainstream market. The book focuses on the characteristics of the "chasm" that separates early adopters of a product from the early majority in the technology adoption life cycle and provides strategies for successfully crossing this chasm. At Maxio, today, we are wrestling with just this reality—how to cross the chasm, and Moore’s insights could not be more relevant.

The real turning point in my own understanding of how to “do” strategy right was meeting Pavel Zumido Ramirez while I was at Salesforce. A veteran of the Monitor Consulting Group, the firm co-founded by Michael Porter, Pavel was my boss at Salesforce for just over a year. During that time, he introduced me to the very down-to-earth, practical approach to strategy outlined in Roger Martin and A.G. Lafley’s Playing to Win.?

Their mantra? Know your industry like the back of your hand. Even more crucially, understand the industries you're not a part of. It's about zeroing in on your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP), carving out your unique selling proposition, and outshining your competitors.

For me, their approach bridges the gap between the theory of strategy and the practice of getting things done, offering a compass both for daily and long-term decision-making. As they argue, a well-crafted strategy stands the test of time and corporate evolution. It offers a guiding light for navigating product development, marketing, and sales investments and tradeoffs, ensuring you're not just throwing expensive darts in the dark; you’re aiming with precision. Above all, it will give you clarity on what your company does, how it can win in the marketplace, and where you should be investing your time, money, and resources.?

What’s the secret formula??

So, how do you unearth your company's winning strategy? It starts with answering five pivotal questions, each a stepping stone towards your ultimate goal

1. What is your aspiration??

This is the big one. When you give yourself permission to dream, where does your ambition and your imagination carry you? If you’re running a restaurant, do you want to build a single three-star fine dining establishment or the world’s biggest burger franchise? How you define success will shape everything else you do, so don’t be too quick to decide.

2. Where do you want to play??

Figuring out your aspirations will usually lead you to think about the category, segments, and regions you want to operate in. As an early-stage company, the trick is actually articulating where you shouldn’t be playing so you don’t waste resources trying to capture ground that doesn’t actually align with your mission.

3. How do you want to win?

This is where you start connecting the dots and translating strategy into action. Once you know where you are and where you want to be, it’s time to start figuring out a specific plan for getting from here to there. This might change over time, but you can’t start with a question mark. You need some concrete ideas showing how your business can carry itself forward and find a path to scalable success.

4. What capabilities do you need?

After mapping out a way to win, figure out what’s missing from your existing business. Do you need a stronger customer marketing playbook or new tools to support your monetization strategy? Do you need to invest in new R&D talent so you can build out AI capabilities or bring some stellar sales leaders into the fold to help you go after a new segment? The key is spending the time articulating what will be needed, securing the appropriate investments, and putting the right systems/tools/processes in place before you try to execute.

5. What management systems are you missing?

It’s easy to focus on processes and resources, but you should also pay attention to the management structures that will be needed to support the strategy you’re mapping out. You can’t do everything yourself, so make sure you’ve got a strong executive team, processes to drive accountability, and leadership structures in place to transmit your strategy down the chain of command.

Of course, you won’t have fully baked answers to all of these questions on day one. The goal is to start thinking and talking about them. Through that process, you’ll move toward a shared understanding of your current context and of the kinds of choices you’ll need to make going forward.

The real magic is in the evolution

One of the key insights I learned from working with Pavel was that strategy isn't a static blueprint. It's a dynamic, evolving dialogue. It's about aligning your organization, from the boardroom to the front lines, under a unified strategic vision, which takes time and a commitment to dialogue.?

In this sense, strategy isn’t a single flash of insight—it’s an iterative process, like an unfolding conversation. As you go deeper into each area, you try to create more alignment and consistency between the levels, identify gaps and are forced to be more precise in your articulation of the direction.?

As you have conversations with your board, your executive team, and your leadership team, you’ll find that the process of establishing strategy and the process of evangelizing your strategy across your organization begin to converge. In an ideal world, as people come to understand your strategy, they will also feel empowered to help shape it. They’ll be able to contribute to the conversation in ways that serve your company’s purpose and goals.

I’ve used this process at four companies, and I find it to be a powerful way to align organizations from the top down in terms of setting aspirations and translating them into specific capabilities. As I said at the beginning, a clear winning strategy is the single thing that every CEO needs, but many leaders fail to deliver. As a CEO, you’ll be forced to deal with plenty of urgent problems. With the right strategy, you’ll be able to focus your energy not just on what’s urgent but also on what’s really important to your business.

What say you?

I'm curious to hear your tales from the strategic frontlines. How have you charted your course, and what winds have you harnessed to propel your team forward? Any challenges or ingenious strategies you've employed? Drop a comment below—let's exchange notes on how to navigate the exciting yet daunting journey of leading companies on the uncharted path.