Strategy Made Simple: Avoiding Analysis Paralysis

By Dan Taylor Founder, Dan Taylor Ec Dev and Leadership Expert January 16, 2025

In economic development, strategy is essential—but it doesn’t have to be complex. Too often, communities invest $50,000 to $100,000 or more in detailed strategy plans that ultimately sit on a shelf, gathering dust. While comprehensive plans have their place, they’re not always what’s needed to make progress.

Sometimes, simplicity is the key to success.

The Problem: Overcomplicating Strategy

Many communities struggle with one or more of the following challenges:

• No Strategy: “We need something to guide us, but we don’t know where to start.”
• Overwhelming Plans: “The strategy is too complex to execute.”
• Analysis Paralysis: “We can’t decide on priorities or where to focus.”
• Inaction: “We created a strategy, but there’s no buy-in or resources to implement it.”

These issues lead to stagnation, missed opportunities, and frustration for stakeholders. When strategies become too complicated, they lose their impact.

The Solution: Simplify Your Approach

A simple, actionable strategy can drive meaningful results. Here’s how to create one:

1. Step Back: Revisit the fundamentals. What are the core challenges or opportunities in your community?
2. Focus: Identify your top three priorities. These should be the most impactful areas to address.
3. Paper Napkin Strategy: Sketch out your ideas on a single page—or even a napkin. Keep it concise.
4. One Pager: Expand slightly to outline goals, actions, and metrics, but avoid excessive detail.
5. Use a Visual Framework: Tools like the Business Model Canvas can help organize your strategy in a clear and actionable format.

Imagine the Feeling of Simplifying Your Strategy

When your strategy is simple and clear, you can:

• Achieve Clarity: Everyone understands and supports the priorities.
• Drive Action: A straightforward plan ensures momentum.
• See Results: Without unnecessary complexity, resources are directed effectively.

Case Study: Innisfil’s Success

Innisfil, Ontario, faced the challenge of defining its economic development priorities. By using a simple Venn diagram, the community identified three core strengths and opportunities. The overlap of these elements became the focus, leading to transformative results:

• Created a thriving tech ecosystem: Developed a software-tech accelerator.
• Formed impactful partnerships: Collaborated with key stakeholders to support growth.
• Achieved measurable outcomes: Supported 65 startups, raised $24M in venture capital, secured $4.7M in grants, and created or retained 214 full-time and 172 part-time jobs.

This success wasn’t achieved with a massive, complex plan—it started with simplicity, focus, and clarity.

Your Next Step: Make Strategy Simple

What’s your community’s biggest opportunity for impact? Take a moment to reflect on these questions:

• What are your community’s top three strengths or opportunities?
• How could you simplify your approach to focus on what matters most?
• Are there tools or frameworks you could use to clarify your strategy?

Let’s Start the Conversation

Simplifying strategy doesn’t mean sacrificing results. On the contrary, it can lead to greater focus, alignment, and impact. If you’re ready to streamline your approach and make progress, let’s connect. Drop a comment below or reach out directly—I’d love to hear your thoughts and explore how we can create strategies that work.

#EconomicDevelopment #StrategyMadeSimple #LeadershipInAction #CommunityGrowth #EconomicResilience