Strategy is about telling stories. Good strategy is about telling the ongoing saga of your brand.

This is part three. In part one we introduced the premise and a framework to hang our strategic direction on. Then we got into Mission & Goals (What). In part two we discussed the Value Network (Who). This time we’ll be examining Strategy (How)

What is Strategy?

A worthy question, with an elusive answer. Why and elusive answer? I hate to go to dictionary definitions, but in this case it helps prove my point. Websters: “A careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time.” I’m going to digress for a moment and talk about what a strategy is not.

People often take a sequenced list of objectives, tasks, or agile stories. Then call them a strategy because they span a long period of time. They confuse the work items (tactics) with “plan or method” (strategy). If you draw the shadow of a chair have you drawn the chair itself? Strategic outcomes can look like a task list out of context. In other words, you can look at the work of others, and paint the shadow of a chair without knowledge of the chair. If you try to make adjustments without understanding the whys and what’s of a chair, you risk creating a blobby mess. To recap; a string of objectives over time is not a strategy. It may, or may not, be the tactical result of a strategy.

<Step off soapbox. End rant.>

Back on topic, how does strategy relate to story. Let’s talk a bit about conflict, plot, and outline.

Conflict

I mentioned conflict last time when talking about the Value Network. There must be some challenge we’re looking to overcome. Identifying that challenge is critical. Part of your strategy is about how you overcome those challenges. If Joe needs to take medical supplies from point A to point B, you don’t need a strategy for Joe to do that. Yet, if there is a mountain and a river between points A and B, then we need strategies for dealing with both.

Plot

This is the heart of our strategy. There are five main steps to developing a strategy. Let’s use our example of Joe’s journey to go over them. When exploring conflict we identified two obstacles to deal with. The mountain and the river. Let’s explore the problem of the mountain as our lens on the five steps of strategy.

Note: I’m walking through these steps in order. The reality is that you’ll work on one part, and that will better inform another. You’ll go back and forth like this as needed.

Determine where we are:

First we need to look at the what we know and where we’re at. How big is the mountain? What is our ability to scale it? What is our realistic chance of success given where we are now. For our example let’s say the mountain is high and steep. Joe’s mountain climbing skills are good, but his repelling skills need work. This could introduce a risk. Joe is also unfamiliar with the area and terrain. Joe has the needed expertise in how to safely transport and administer the medical supplies. Alternatively, Joe could go around the mountain adding two months to his journey. It’s a big mountain.

Identify what’s important:

What’s the most critical aspect of our goal? Is it mitigating risk? Expense? Pushing the boundaries of exploration? Knowing what’s important let’s us focus out strategies. In our example let’s say that time is our most important factor. Joe needs to get to the destination as fast as he can. It’s also important that he makes it in one piece. No second chance at success. Safety is our second criteria. With these criteria we can remove circumnavigating the mountain as an option.

Determine what must be achieved:

Now we can look at the minimum steps we need to achieve to be successful. Note that this isn’t a rehashing of the goal. It’s about what we need to do to achieve the goal. What needs to happen to ensure the medical supplies make it to the destination.

Based on what we know of our example, we’d need to achieve the following:

• Navigate the mountain
• Climb the mountain
• Descend the mountain

It’s tempting to get into execution of each item. Capture the thought, and then set it aside. This isn’t about how we execute the strategy. It’s about gathering the information so we can develop the strategy.

At this point let’s create our strategy for the mountain:

Mountaineering Expertise:
1) Team Strategy: Augment the team, but keep it as light as possible. Add an experienced mountaineer with knowledge of the area to aid Joe. This will significantly increase the chance of getting the supplies over the mountain.
2) Equipment Strategy: The team needs to be properly equipped to deal with the terrain. They also need to be prepared for issues that may arise. Keep equipment to a minimum.
3) Route Strategy. There are many routes over the mountain. Select the route that offers the best chance of success given known factors.

We’ve determined that Joe is needed for the mission. We know that time and safety are of primary importance. Also, two of the three things that we need to achieve are at risk by sending Joe alone. The time factor eliminates strategies that involve avoiding the mountain. We also don’t have time to send Joe to training. We decide the best strategy is to get Joe help for the trip.

This is a simplified example. There could be a dozen more strategies developed below these three. For example under Route Strategy there may be climbing, descending and hiking strategies. Is there a packing strategy under equipment? What about food? You get the point. This is what I call the strategy fountain strategy fountain which I’ve written about before.

Checkpoint

This is a good time to stop and see where we’re at with strategy development. We’ve taken our goal, “Get medical supplies from point A to point B,” and identified the main challenges to success. We’ve taken one of those challenges and explored where we are in relation to it. Identified what’s important. And determined what we need to achieve. We’ve also drafted our first strategy to address that challenge.

Next time we’ll finish the plot by completing the last two steps in developing our strategy. “Determine who’s accountable,” and “setup a means for review and adjustment.” Then we’ll create our outline and close out this part of the framework.

Strategy is about telling stories. Good strategy is about telling the ongoing saga of your brand.

This is part two. In part one we introduced the premise and a framework to hang our strategic direction on. Then we got into Mission & Goals (What). This time we’ll be examining the Value Network (Who) and Strategy (How)

Value Network

Who are the primary character in our story? Is there a main protagonist we’ll tell the story (Vision) through? Is there an antagonist?

This last one is tricky. Most strategic visions are rosy pictures of the perfect world our strategy leads us into. Without conflict stories don’t exist. Even Seinfeld, a show about nothing, had conflict. The same is true here. If there is no conflict, noting in the way of success, then there is no need to develop a strategy.

Conflict can come from many places. In the corporate world there’s almost always an aspect that comes from people. Resistance to change from within. Reluctance from customers. Event external pressures from competitors. These antagonist may or may not be referenced in your strategic vision. Recognizing them will help you develop better strategies. We’ll talk more about conflict with strategy. For now lets get back to the Value Network.

Your Value Network is made up of the most impactful roles on success. Notice I said role and not people or jobs. As you start to build your Value Network focus on the roles people play. It’s common for the same person or job title to play multiple roles. By separating the role from the job your strategies will have greater longevity. This will also help to remove potential bias. Tina in sales might be great with social media, but that doesn’t make social media curation a function of sales.

Technically, once you’ve identified the roles and responsibilities of the network, you’re done. Go further. We’re here to talk about the elements of story. Understanding the roles needed is the beginning, not the end. Begin shaping your roles into characters. In business parlance these would be personas. Thinking of personas as characters creates a richer vision. The stronger your vision the easier it is for people to rally around it. But remember, each character has a role to play that moves the story forward. If they don’t, they shouldn’t be there.

Note that I’ve chosen to write this series in a way that indicates a flow. Now throw that notion away. Don’t look at these as a series of steps to be checked off. The truth is you’ll bounce around between Network, Strategy, and Vision. The Mission is the touchstone everything co-develops around. You may even find through the process a need to adjust the Mission. That’s OK, and you should have processes in place to allow that.

I’ll be talking about character and the Value Network in the future. Next we’ll be diving into strategy.

Strategy is about telling stories. Good strategy is about telling the ongoing saga of your brand.

So how does the structure of story relate to strategy? Let’s first review a framework for developing strategic direction I’ve been using. It comes from an article in the Harvard Business Review written by Michael D. Watkins. It breaks it down into four buckets that are all interrelated. Mission & Goals (What), Value Network (Who), Strategy (How), and Vision & Incentives (Why). Let’s tie this to how we craft a story. The Mission is the theme. The Value Network, are your primary characters. The Strategy is your plot/outline. and the Vision is the story itself. All together these create your strategic vision, or story arc. A story arc can be a part of a larger campaign, and so on.

Mission & Goals

What does it mean when I say this relates to a stories Theme? First, a quick explanation of a stories theme. Many people confuse theme with plot. The theme of A Christmas Carol isn’t that a man is visited by three ghosts and becomes a nice guy. Though change is a valid thematic element of the story.

Let’s try again with our theme. “Even the harshest of men is capable of becoming compassionate.” Hurm…Still too thematic. Like a goal should be actionable and measurable, a theme should be specific and evident in a story. This is the touchstone that everything else ties back to. When in doubt, ask the question am I moving my theme forward. Or, does my strategy move me closer to my goal(s)?

One more time. “When shown the entirety of his life, Ebenezer Scrooge recognizes the pain he’s caused and vows to become the man he should have been.” I don’t know if that’s a good theme for A Christmas Carol, but it suits our needs. It’s specific. We can measure if it’s evident in the story. Relating back to our strategic direction, it provides a focal point for network, strategy and vision.

In practice Mission and Goals are generally handed down, but it’s still important to bare this in mind. I’ve talked before about the strategy fountain. Where the objective of a strategy becomes the goal that drives the next level of strategy. We need to craft our strategic objectives through the lens of theme. This will set the next level of strategy up for success.

Next time we’ll get into the Value Network and Strategy