17 minute strategy
Strategy is over-complicated by many (including consultants), so I’m fond of defining it very simply for my clients: “Strategy is a set of insights from which you build a framework that guides future decisions”.
My record for developing high-level strategy with a client was 17 minutes. I asked them six questions, and they answered them. I distilled what they said, we wrote them up on a whiteboard, took a photo, and synthesised it into a polished piece that everyone agreed was on the money.
So, what did we spend our 17 minutes developing insights on? Here are the six questions I asked:
1. Purpose: “Why do you exist?”, or, “For whom do you create what difference?”
2. Role: “What do you do? What don’t you do?” or, “What can you do better than others?”
3. Scale: “How big do you have to be to become truly effective?”
4. Goals: “What are the 2 - 4 investments of time, effort & money that will propel you forward the most?”
5. Results: “What does success look like?” or, “What 5 - 6 things will you measure relentlessly?”
6. Values: “What beliefs, when shared by your people, will predict your success?”
It’s true that (a) they had the answers, (b) they all agreed, and (c) we were deliberately speeding this through and didn’t pause to explore nuances. If you want more nuance, and you want much more detail on these six questions, you can download a copy of my book, with my compliments right here.
Question: Could you easily articulate answers to these questions (in 17 minutes)?
The 3 most powerful questions
Here’s a short one. This year, I ticked over 22 years as a management consultant and I reflected that I could *almost* run my business by asking just three questions.
In case you want to use them, be my guest. Here they are:
1. Why?
2. How do you know?
3. By what criteria?
That’s it. Now, there’s more to strategy, or leadership, or change, than those three questions. But, you can’t do strategy, or leadership, or change, without those questions.
Question: What are the three most powerful questions in your business?
The best ‘no cost’ leadership intervention ever
If you want to be the sort of leader who inspires others to do their best work, put a sign on your door that says this:
“If you have a problem you'd like to discuss, you are welcome, providing that you offer me:
(i) a brief description of the current situation;
(ii) how you contributed to it;
(iii) two potential solutions;
(iv) your recommendation.”
One leader to whom I recommended this approach said his ‘case management’ of subsidiary leadership issues fell by 80%, immediately.
Best of all, he got to have breakfast with his kids, rather than arrive at work at 7am to get work done ‘before the hordes arrive’.
Question: What’s the best ‘free’ leadership intervention you know?
I’m on holidays until January 26th, so the above are a ‘summer edition’ of past 5 Minute Strategic Mindset segments that have been popular with readers. I look forward to being back with you next Friday, however, if you’ve enjoyed reading, please click the ‘heart’ so it keeps the 5MSM pulse beating.
See you next week,
Andrew
Hi Andrew - I love your definition of strategy here. Apart from your own book of course (which I have and often refer to!), what are you top book recommendations on Strategy?