Want to Think More Strategically? Hop on the Rollercoaster.
My business, Think Productive, has been going through quite a big strategic review over the last few weeks. As you probably know, our core business has always been face to face training in the offices of our clients, so this year has required quite a big rethink. We've obviously moved a lot of stuff onto Zoom, but after a frantic few months during lockdown, and then a few months with most of the team on furlough, we've set aside September and October as the months to remodel the business for an online world dealing with the heady cocktail of pandemic, Brexit, and recession. It promises to be a challenging period, so we're determined to be ready. Ninja Preparedness!
Part of the process has been revisiting our 3 year strategy, which we were halfway through. I've always subscribed to the view that 3 years is the absolute maximum that you should ever write a business strategy for. Looking at what we wrote just two years ago, I'm tempted to revise that view to 2 years, 1 year, or perhaps a few weeks at a time.
I had Fred Pelard on Beyond Busy last week. Fred trained as a rocket scientist and then has spent his life helping organisations to write strategic plans and deal with strategic decisions. He's even written a book about it, which is well worth checking out. His model of 'the rollercoaster of strategic thinking' is a really useful one for any decision. Basically, it goes like this:
The first phase of strategic thinking is what Fred calls 'UP'. It's where you brainstorm all the possible options and start to come up with the ideas that might solve the problem. It's an open phase, where - as the business cliche goes - 'no idea is a bad idea' and nothing is off the table. A lot of people don't like strategic thinking, because all strategies deal with something that's inherently uncertain: the future. So there's a need to cast a wide net at this point, but without commitment. I've found over the years that I'm really comfortable exploring ideas, but that for people around me, it can be very stressful - there's a sense that anything written down is committed to, or to be taken seriously. Ideas are a playground, except for the people who find the uncertainty more akin to a horror movie.
The second phase is 'DOWN'. It's about using the best analysis we can to assess our many options, whittle them down to a couple and then one single way forward. You are still trying to predict something in the future, but there's data that we can access that will help. Can you prototype something now and see if it might work? Can you check with your customers? Can you look at past data to test your assumptions? Can you apply some financial modelling? For Think Productive's own strategy, our biggest decisions have been about embracing a more 'online first' approach to what we do, growth into other subject matters beyond simply personal productivity and making a step change in our marketing. These have all involved a lot of soul-searching about our current capacity, prototyping a new website for our online learning offering and much more. Change is often stressful but it can also be exciting. We've still got a bit to do, but we're really confident that we've honed in on the right ideas and are going to move forwards again.
Then 'PUSH' is the phase where you 'sell' the ideas to others. What are the simple words or phrases that you can use that will 'stick' with people? Can you draw pictures or craft a compelling narrative that is easy to understand? How can sales targets, KPIs or budgets drive everyone in the right new direction? Ultimately, a strategic plan is not supposed to be left in a draw - it needs to inform everyone's thinking and direction of progress in the years ahead.
You can use this model to create an agenda for a long strategic planning process, or simply use it over the course of a few minutes to help make a more strategic decision in a team meeting - and everything in between.
One of the conclusions I drew from talking to Fred was that different people are naturally better at different stages of this strategic process, and that making big decisions is better done in small groups than solo. As the founder of Think Productive, it's easy for me to be wedded to certain ideas or think I know best - and annoyingly, the influence I have as a founder often goes beyond my personal skill level (as is the case for probably all founders). But I've also, through the process, encountered ideas and viewpoints that tested my thinking, made certain ideas stronger or completely changed my mind on other things too. It's been a useful process and one that I hope stands the business in good stead for what I fully expect to be difficult times ahead. That doesn't guarantee our success, of course, but it at least gives us the best chance of survival and growth in the weeks, months and years ahead.
So here's my question for you this week: what is the big strategic issue facing you or your team in the weeks and months ahead? How can you apply the rollercoaster model to brainstorm options, analyse the data for what works best and then sell the solution to everyone around you?