How to Use One Simple Word to Cut Through Strategic Gridlock

Home

On January 3, 2012, in Strategy, by Brett Duncan

Don't let this one word scare you

We strategic thinkers so easily get our hopes up sometimes.

Haven’t you been in those sessions before where you just know you can drive the group to truly selling out to some key objectives and committing together to make it all happen? Things are going well, you’ve got your tight list of objectives and goals, and it feels like some real barriers have been knocked down.

Then someone points out that there’s one small initiative that hasn’t been addressed in the objectives.

Then another someone points out there’s a small vocal minority that hasn’t been addressed in the objectives.

Then a couple folks realize John and Jane Doe, who have been around forever, aren’t going to think the objectives address an area they’re interested in.

And the snowball builds and builds and builds. And that demon known as consensus creeps in and starts turning tight, focused, strategic objectives into generic, limp, scattered corporate nonsense.

You’ve been there, haven’t you?

It’s one of the most deflating experiences that any strategic session can endure, and it’s way too common.

Maybe it’s due to simple fear. Fear of risk. Fear of alienating a possibility. Fear of offending someone.

Or maybe it’s because people simply don’t understand the basic nature of positioning and attraction. That people are attracted to what’s bold and specialized and exclusive. That no one chooses generic on purpose.

Whatever the reason, there is some good news: you can thwart a lot of this nonsense by just apply a simple word to your process.

You interested?

The One Word that Makes All the Difference

It turns out that it’s not just thirty-something single guys who are afraid of commitment. Corporate leaders tend to be that way, too. When the stakes are high and jobs are on the line, it’s really tough to get the group to buy-in and sell out to “the plan.” It’s excruciatingly painful to get the team to commit to a simple list of five objectives because it’s possible there are five other objectives that you could be doing. It’s tough to get someone to stand by those objectives simply because they could be wrong.

This is a human issue, really.

So you, the guy who has a true understanding and appreciation of strategic planning and commitment, need to add something to the conversation that will put everyone at ease while still getting you a 90% commitment level to the group. It’s just a single word, and it goes something like this:

PRIMARILY

Adding this one fairly simple word can help you cut through most of the crap that strategy sessions tend to turn up, and still retain an extremely high commitment level from the team.

Here’s How It Works

Let’s say you’re narrowing down to three major objectives for 2012. A simple way you may present this is with this statement:

We will grow in 2012 because we will …

Create a customer loyalty program that rewards the right behavior from new customers.
Focus our support on the 10% of our sales force who accounts for 70+% of our new business.
Open our doors in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

Pretty tight, eh?

Inevitably, someone will chime in that these objectives don’t cover everything (which is kinda the point, but we’ll save that for later). There are programs, markets and opportunities that aren’t addressed in these objectives. In most cases, after the group has already been discussing the important stuff for hours on end even to get to the point of having three clear objectives, if all this other stuff hasn’t popped up, then it’s probably not that crucial. And therefore, needs to stay off the list.

But human nature will prevail here, and you’ll start getting lobbied to make the list longer, make the sentences longer and make the wording pretty “blah.” All of which are known strategy-assassins.

The way you get around it and ease the tension is by adding the word “primarily.” Check this out:

We will grow in 2012 primarily because we will …

Create a customer loyalty program that rewards the right behavior from new customers.
Focus our support on the 10% of our sales force who accounts for 70% of our new business.
Open our doors in Costa Rica and Ecuador.

See how “primarily” puts everything in its place but still leaves room for all that other stuff that should stay off the list. Now everyone can still have the hope of their pet projects and not feel like you’re completely abandoning a secondary, not-so-important market or initiative.

“Primarily” puts people at ease, but it still gives you the benefit of keeping your top objectives your top objectives. They are the primary reason you will grow.