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.