While working at a VC I used to ask companies “What’s your strategy?” or had countless hours talking with Marcin Szelag or Piotr Wilam about what is our Strategy for the VC world is or should be. While this was happening the amount of time I’ve misspelled strategy to STARtegy was staggering. Somehow this makes me think about the Freudian slip. Is Strategy such an unknown, that my subconscious is showing more as a star rather than a strategy? I guess this could also explain why strategy in general is so misunderstood. Your vision is not your strategy. Your plan is not a strategy. Your Operational Excellence is not your Strategy. Your best practices are not your strategy. Your OKRs are also not your strategy. Then what is it?
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In my opinion one of the best ways to describe what strategy is comes from Roger L. Martin “It is a set of interrelated and powerful choices that positions the organization to win”. Definitely easy said, harder done.
Well What kind of choices? It goes into the topic how conscious are we about our organization, do we we just follow what is emerging or make a choice about where we focus our energy and what we bet on.
Playing to win offers one of the frameworks for choices:
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1️⃣ What is your winning aspiration? The purpose of your organization, its truly motivating aspiration.
2️⃣ Where will you play? A playing field where you can achieve that aspiration.
3️⃣ How will you win? The way you will win on the chosen playing field.
4️⃣ What capabilities must be in place? The set and configuration of capabilities required to win in the chosen way.
5️⃣ What management systems are required? The systems and measures that enable the capabilities and support the choices.
There are also other ones, like Rumelt’s “Kernel of Good Strategy”, or Lencioni’s “6 questions” check the other posts about it.
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