The Strangling of Strategy

A definite victim of COVID 19 is Strategy. Not a strategy to combat the pandemic, strategic plans for conglomerates and countries, but all Strategy as we know it.

Of course, to attribute the event to just this pandemic would be wrong. The world has changed a lot from the days of the industrial revolution. Grand corporations with everlasting businesses and domains were becoming a footnote on history at a fast pace. But the pandemic has demonstrated, without doubt, that strategy is dead. And if you live by a strategic plan and grandiose plans for sector domination, then you are in for a rude awakening. 

Those professing pursuit of the strategic goal may just as well shovel useless paperwork. They will continue until it becomes plain to everyone how useless they are in a fast-changing world. Strategy was the God of the MBAs in particular. And many including myself have bent a knee at the altar of the Greater Plan. No more. As the world's chaos hits the more stable countries like in Europe, Japan and North America. They are left without credible ideas. Airlines, hotels, services that were just dependent on things like tourism, and trade died. All their plans are on paper and no one has a clue to deal with such a large scale life-changing event. Strategy peddlers, however, will disguise it as risk mitigation Strategies, New market Strategies. Old as new Strategies. they won't give up flogging a dead donkey. Because they don't know how to deal with the chaos.   

How did chaos enter the first world? Data, AI, Climate Change, Regulations, Wokism and increased political tilt globally to the Right. Besides, competitive scenarios have been upping the ante for chaos for some time now. The virus is the last straw. 

True, human beings are fighting the pandemic with all resources, but do they have a plan for after? No. No one has. No one even knows how the post-pandemic world will be. Guesses running in 100s of pages are out already by the Big 4 and their lesser cousins. No use. Of course, we will survive. And looking back we may think lightly of this hysteria that has gripped us now. A more deadly version of Y2K if you will, but in hindsight we may be overreacting. That's just our panic and this panic will remain and define how we will approach things from now on.  

But I think, that (thankfully) growth in the post NewCoronavirus world will come from real value creation, inventions and products of use in tomorrow's world. Some very basic stuff will make a resurgence. some will die. Organised Branding, advertising and PR sector will be denied the dignity of existence in a world where influence is democratised and not controllable. It's a do your best and hope it sticks scenario.  

We will see more multidimensional companies that may be in unrelated fields, and that's okay. More Teslas, the company not the car, More Mi's less of Apple unless it makes something worthy of its famed UI legacy.

The suits will try to disguise and rename the processes used for vision, mission and strategic intent, plans and blueprints alive for as long as they can but won't succeed for long. We need the ventilators for the living you see.

#strategy #business