Strategy and How

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been explaining my framework for approaching strategy using a fairly simple definition: strategy is how we win. Two weeks ago we explored “win,” last week I touched on “we,” and so this week I’ll scratch the surface of, arguably, the most important part of the definition: HOW.

Early in college, a few friends and I decided to go backpacking in the North Georgia mountains over a long weekend. The two of us who had been backpacking before felt confident we could guide the rest of the group, even though we’d never planned a camping trip. We (thought) we were smart and we were in pretty good shape. The others were quickly on board with our vision (“Adventure! Nature! Waterfalls! Rugged individualism!”). I spent a lot of time looking at maps and thinking about where we should hike and camp. We printed out maps and directions (ah, the innocence of the pre-smart phone era), borrowed the gear we thought we needed, met up at 6am one morning, and started driving, windows down as the sharp October air added to the sense that we were doing the kinds of things that make you feel alive.

The first warning sign that maybe we weren't going to execute this grand vision as well as we'd hoped came quickly on the drive.

Me: “Hey, man. What’s that in your bag?”

Friend [with a wild-eyed smile]: “BB-gun, brother! Just in case we see a bear! Also got this here ax! And enough canned chili to share!”

Me: “With… the bear? Wait, you brought a bunch of canned food?”

See, I (…thought I) was prepared. I’d been backpacking many times. But I hadn’t stopped to consider whether the other guys even knew what it looked like to be prepared. Yes, this is a failure of leadership on my part. But it is also a failure of strategy. (These things are not uncorrelated, but I’ll save the exploration of that relationship for a future post.)

The win of our trip was compelling, aspirational, and – because this trip was just one finite game within other infinite games (e.g., the win condition of many young twentysomething males: “be awesome”) – it was concrete. (As you'll see, though, we weren't entirely honest with ourselves about our vision.) The we was… sort of there. We thought we were all aligned on and committed to our vision. But like most social situations, the collaboration was uncoordinated and implicit. This limits clarity of identity. Worst of all we did a terrible job with how.

We arrived at the wrong parking lot later than we’d planned. I used my already-tired map to identify how we could still get to the campsite we’d planned for and we set out. After twenty two miles of brutal hiking (instead of the planned thirteen), we made it to the intended riverside campsite. But hey, surprises and hardships are just a part of the adventure. What a great story! We just did over twenty miles in a single day!

The next day we swam in the river, took turns jumping off of a local waterfall, and enjoyed a leisurely lunch. However, we knew we probably couldn’t hike another twenty-two-miles in one day and so decided to split the return journey across two days. After lunch, we packed up and started hiking. And then it started raining in a torrential Appalachian downpour. Of course no one had checked the weather. Only two of us had even brought waterproof gear.

Cold, wet, and grumpy, we decided backpacking was stupid and we would just hike the whole distance out and go home that day. Then one of the old running shoes my BB-toting friend was wearing fell apart. We got lost. The sun set. Only one of us had a headlamp. Everything was suddenly someone’s fault. Harsh words were exchanged.

One my previous bosses once said, “20% of strategy is coming up with your position, 80% is execution.” Even if you have a direction and everyone is on board, you need to be able to execute. What are the skills, tools, processes, and relationships you need to do the work? How will you create, do, and track goals and objectives? How will you measure progress? How will you hold people accountable? How will you reward them? How will you do professional development, grow, sell, buy, donate, lend? Like many organizations, my friends and I spent 80% of our effort on what win should look like ("awesome!"). Strategy is a thread that runs through everything. The degree of coherence in an organization has determines whether or not it is doing strategy or wandering aimlessly in the woods.

Eventually, we found the trail again. Very muddy, hungry, and cold, we made it back to the car at 11pm. Thank goodness for a nearby Waffle House, Inc. being open all night. We warmed up, dried out, and filled up on comfort food. When we got back to our dorms, most of us slept for over twelve hours. Fiftyish miles in two days is a lot for a bunch of kids more used to studying heat transfer and fluid dynamics than experiencing it.

Was the trip really a strategic failure? Fortysomething father, husband, and responsible business leader me says yes. But the win condition of many young twentysomething males is “be awesome.” My friends and I encountered mild unexpected hardship instead of milder fabricated hardship. It is telling that there was some disappointment that we never saw a bear. In the subsequent weeks, we recalled stories about the trip a bit louder than needed so that others would envy our grit, our adventure, our rugged individualism. But that is still a strategic failure - because if we'd been honest about our vision, we'd have embraced some degree of poor planning instead of being blindsided by it.

Execution is 80% of strategy, but sometimes pure dumb luck sweeps in and helps you win even if you didn't do anything right. Next time, let's explore how to mitigate the forces of chance and win anyway.