It's "Revisit Your Strategy" Time

Is strategy review avoidance happening in your workplace?

No time to read? - listen on podcast: It's revisit your strategy time.

It's June again. Six month's through 2018 and time continues to fly. As I re-read this post from 2017, I noticed that the older I get (yes, I just celebrated 50); the more I realize that I revisit my personal strategy daily. I now have daily strategy sessions with myself. They look something like. What is my goal for this day? What are the things I must accomplish to feel successful? What are the things I can let go? When will I meditate? When will I exercise? When will I enjoy nature? When will I enjoy my family? When will I laugh?

I know it probably doesn't sound like a work list. But for me, it is. These are the things that make me the best I can be for my clients. It is in these daily sessions that I realize it's always my turn. I am the one creating my days and my outcomes.

It's with these thoughts in mind that I re-share last year's article...

As Seth Godin teaches us in What to Do When It's Your Turn do what you should do and your mood will follow. For those of us in marketing, avoidance can happen when we know a good idea that we have isn't working. Trust me, avoidance will only make it worse. Every good idea that doesn't turn out the way you wanted is a learning experience presenting itself to you. The only bad thing that can happen is to not learn from it. That's why at The YaZo Group the second half of the year is for learning and tweaking.

You have data for a reason. To learn. Data exists on your website, on your social sites, on your phone, and in your conversations (albeit people often overlook this essential data feed these days). Data allows you to look at what is working and identify the many reasons why. It also allows you to look at what's not working and discuss if you can apply some of the methods of what IS WORKING to what's not working and turn the great idea into a great idea with results.

And...Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

I have seen many good ideas thrown out without tweaking only to see a competitor of that client pull off something very similar with great results. I find that to be a result of the following strategy killers:

• Impatience
• Taking things personally not seriously (another Seth Godin thought)
• Lack of passion and intention
• Too many end goals
• Not enough initial research
• Fear of not being relevant ( added this one for 2018)

As a consultant I can tell you it's still your business. Understand what you agree to before you agree to it, and if you agree to it -do it with passion and enthusiasm and the understanding that you will learn from the results. Regardless of how long you've been in business, it's your job to stay relevant. Trust me, the younger generations can't afford their mentors to feel irrelevant. They need us to continue to learn, engage, and teach them...their way. On their platforms. The way they want to engage with our companies and buy our products.

So if you haven't reviewed your marketing results for Jan - May; it's not too late. June is beckoning you to set those meetings, gather your data, and make decisions and please don't forget to...

Invite the Fifth Hammer to your meetings.

Another Seth concept - he uses the analogy of Neil Young and the dissonance he created for Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. In Seth's words, "He was their friction, the wild card, their fifth hammer." Many times the fifth hammer is the one that can turn that great idea into an exceptional one. And perhaps as Seth encourages us - that fifth hammer is you.

At YaZo group we welcome the dissonance and we recognize that revisiting your strategy is a #FineThing.

To work with YaZo or to be on our #FineThings Vlog contact me at [email protected]