The Art of Strategy

Strategy

Strategies are supposed to be driven by numbers, extensive analysis and uncorrupted by bias, judgement, or opinion. The larger the dataset, the more confidence one has. In order to be effective, one needs to be effective, and in order to be effective, one needs a strategy.

Having the right strategy ensures a successful outcome.

Having the wrong, or outdated strategy usually wastes valuable resources, delaying the process and the results. By creating the "perfect" strategy; one that is rigid but versatile, you set yourself up for victory and success. As they say "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail."

In the new age, people want to be more effective.

The days of working hard have long gone. It is all about working smart. Being productive is the ruler of them all. Being able to get six hours of work done in three hours, while only expending two hours worth of energy. That's the winning formula of the now.

Maximising your resources for the most effective return is the new way of doing things. In the new millennium, smart people are no longer willing to suffer for success. The answer is quite simple; develop a strategy, or don't develop at all.

It doesn't matter if it's a creative strategy, customised strategy or even a complex strategy. Strategies are the keys to a successful life and business, no matter how complex or whatever the timeline.

Strategies, however, need to be understood and conceptualised. One needs to learn how to craft, adapt, and synthesise these strategies to fit your situation or that of your business and your clients.

Strategising is a skill. A skill that can benefit your career, business and personal life.

Strategic Thinking

Being able to demonstrate decisiveness, strategic thinkers understand the importance of being decisive in their decision-making. They efficiently gather information and then make a decision based on that information.

To be strategic, one needs to always be learning.

The commitment to constantly learning and developing self improvement. Whether it's learning from their own experience, the experience of others, books, podcasts, videos or conferences, strategic thinkers don't dismiss any potential source of education.

Strategic thinkers are always seeking the advice of others.

These individuals test ideas and concepts and ensure that every criticism is examined and incorporated. This encourages robustness in their strategies and plans.

Being a risk taker is part of a strategic thinkers life.

Great strategic thinkers understand that professional excellence doesn't always emerge from a cookie-cutter approach. With careful thoughts, analysis and consideration, these individuals take risks on new ideas, innovative solutions and unique pitches. These individuals are prepared for both success and failure and are always willing to learn from their mistakes.

One thing a strategic thinker always remembers is their own unique purpose, as well as their organisational purpose. It is imperative to a strategic thinker to never neglect their purpose or people. Any strategic focus should revolve around these two factors as purpose and people are the winning ingredients to a successful recipe.

The Strategic Edge

In order to change your order of thinking and doing, one needs to identify with the key characteristics of being strategic in their life. There is no rule-of-thumb, but there are a number of ways one can enhance their strategic edge.

1. Be Forward Thinking - Always seek opportunities.
2. Seek Input from Others Throughout Life and the Organisation - Others can see your blindspots better than you can, seeking input can be the game changer in your life.
3. Have a Long-Term Focus - Play the long game, short-term gratification doesn't work.
4. Be Hands-Off - Do not micro-manage, take the macro look. Allow for autonomy, allow for mistakes to be made and to be learnt.
5. Be Willing to Take Risks - There is no risk without reward. Do not mitigate.
6. Prioritise Time - Time is the only valuable commodity in life.
7. Be Nimble - Be a person who leads change and helps others overcome their fear of change.
8. Be a Life-Long Learner - Always seek out knowledge and new skills. Be open to learning from others as well as teaching others.
9. Be Creative - Creativity isn't just coming up with big ideas, but also being innovative in daily activities and long-term thinking.

In order to develop a strategic edge in life and business, one needs to know themselves first and foremost.

If you are an active learner already, you may already be aware of parts of yourself that could be refined. Things like time management, communication, or execution could be elements you struggle with already, and know that by implementing a strategy in these areas, you can better yourself extensively.

Are these factors a hinderance to your growth and development?

If you don't refine these skills, will yourself or your business be impacted?

These questions are critical in identifying whether a strategic edge is needed for you to not only be better, but to perform better, and for your business to have greater execution.

By identifying that you have to actively develop yourself in these areas, and others alike, it is already an indication that you're being strategic. By wanting to be better, to grow, and to enhance your own ability, you are encouraging forward-thinking, a learner mentality, and the willingness to be better.

"You cannot be everything to everyone. If you decide to go north, you cannot go south at the same time."

The Power of Strategy

A strategy is how you get something accomplished, whether you are doing the work, someone else is doing the work, or the strategy itself is doing the work. A strategy is how something gets done, not just what you do. It is about your approach and the positioning.

The skill is to reach the goal with the least amount of wasted effort or cost.

With a strategy you are not always working directly on the goal itself, but rather on improving or positioning the environments, relationships, resources, flows, systems, or even yourself in order to have a competitive edge.

By developing a strategy, you save yourself time, money and effort.

Simply put, you are using your intelligence and creativity to be clever, instead of just focusing on sheer effort and action steps. Goal setting and having an expanded view will give you the ability to break things down into committable periods of effort and attention.

By committing to a winning strategy, you are not only promoting personal success, but also business performance. The key is you, and if you develop and enhance your own ability, anything you encounter will be enhanced.

Strategic Creativity

Creativity is essential for strategising.

One of the most fascinating aspects of strategy is the process of developing strategies and is a highly creative one. Not only is it creative, but it is intuitive. By creating the strategy yourself, you then have the capacity to manipulate, alter and expand on the existing framework.

Strategies evolve you, in addition to helping you achieve your goals faster.

In any personal or business situation, there are three elements: the person, the goal, and the strategy. The who, the what, and the how. Our goals and our strategies have as much to do with our personal evolution as do our direct efforts in these areas.

By having a strategy, you allow yourself to thrive in chaos.

The world is changing at a rate that is incomprehensible. With the expansion of IOT, web3 and other digital monoliths, we are experiencing an ever changing world both physically and digitally. By having a strategy, you can plan for change and prepare for chaos.

Strategy is a life skill and by working it like a muscle, you develop the strength to empower yourself and your business, strategically.

It's an art form.

From the article "Great Lives Don't Just Happen. You Need a Strategy" Matt Lewin creates a framework for his life, which is an easy-to-use, structure tool that anyone can use to define their life and create a strategy to achieve it.

Matt focused on keeping it practical, developing dimensions which can further enhance a persons individual purpose as well as their collective purpose. Below is a breakdown of his framework, which I believe is a great foundation in developing strategy in ones life.

Start with a Holistic View

Focus on wellness to ensure a well-rounded strategy.

• Physical?— The quality of my physical health and safety
• Emotional?— My ability to recognise, accept, share and take responsibility for my emotional state
• Financial —?My ability to live within my means and advance my economic well-being
• Spiritual —?The meaning and purpose I derive through beliefs, faith, values, ethics, and morals
• Intellectual —?My ability to use my mental faculties to learn, acquire knowledge and skills, and stimulate creative expression
• Occupational —?The chosen work, vocation or career that I contribute to society
• Social —?My ability to establish meaningful relationships with individuals, groups, communities, and cultures
• Environmental —?The quality of my physical surroundings and my contribution to global sustainability

State Your Aspirations

Define success in your terms. The Playing to Win Strategy.

Determine Your Strategy

Define your unique approach to achieving your ambitions.

Set Clear Objectives, Define Key Results

Track and measure outcomes.

Ingrain Good Habits

Make your strategy part of your everyday life. Put it into practice.

“Success is 20% skills and 80% strategy. You might know how to succeed, but more importantly, what’s your plan to succeed?”

Strategy is not just one-dimensional, but multi-dimensional. Everyone has the ability to be a strategist, but it takes a culmination of self-awareness and understanding of ones life, their goals and their ambitions which determines the degree in which strategy becomes a part of their processes.