FAYUM.GR

In discussions within advertising agencies, whether working on a brief with the client or on our own, the adverb ‘strategically’ is often heard.

For example: ‘We will do [this] to strategically achieve [that].’ The use of this word, apart from seeming like a gospel, a ‘magical’ invocation of fortification and protection, a safety net that what we propose has been studied and has a goal, also reveals certain misunderstandings about both the nature and function of strategy.

Recently, I read Richard Rumelt’s famous book, ‘Good Strategy/Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters,’ and found many useful pieces that clarify what strategy is and what it serves. Although a large part of the book is dedicated to business strategy, Rumelt’s insights are impressively relevant to communication strategy as well. Appreciating his expertise in this field (especially compared to my own), I prefer to directly quote some passages from his book, which I believe are useful for those of us involved in communication and advertising. Even in an era where long-form doesn’t get read easily, I think each of his wordings, even if it addresses the same topic again, reveals a different aspect of truth.

Bad Strategy

The first and foremost point clarified is the following:

A long list of “things to do,” often mislabeled as “strategies” or “objectives,” is not a strategy. It is just a list of things to do. Such lists usually grow out of planning meetings in which a wide variety of stakeholders make suggestions as to things they would like to see done. Rather than focus on a few important items, the group sweeps the whole day’s collection into the “strategic plan.”

Bad strategy is more than just the absence of good strategy. Bad strategy has a life and logic of its own, a false edifice built on mistaken foundations. Bad strategy may actively avoid analyzing obstacles. […] If you fail to identify and analyze the obstacles, you don’t have a strategy. Instead, you have either a stretch goal, a budget, or a list of things you wish would happen. […] Bad strategy grows out of specific misconceptions and leadership dysfunctions.

Bad strategy is not the same thing as no strategy or strategy that fails rather than succeeds. Rather, it is an identifiable way of thinking and writing about strategy that has, unfortunately, been gaining ground. Bad strategy is long on goals and short on policy or action. It assumes that goals are all you need. It puts forward strategic objectives that are incoherent and, sometimes, totally impracticable. It uses high-sounding words and phrases to hide these failings.

Like a quarterback whose only advice to teammates is “Let’s win,” bad strategy covers up its failure to guide by embracing the language of broad goals, ambition, vision, and values. Each of these elements is, of course, an important part of human life. But, by themselves, they are not substitutes for the hard work of strategy.

These ritual recitations obviously tap into a deep human capacity to believe that intensely focused desire is magically rewarded.

Leaders & Gurus

However, Rumelt reserves some thoughts for the Leaders, the decision-makers of the brands, in our case, or the strategy gurus who inspire or advise them. I would also add those who confuse the strategy deck with the product packaging and embed in the analysis the ambitions and the polished, glossy tone of voice of the brand:

• Business leaders know their organizations should have a strategy. Yet many express frustration with the whole process of strategic planning. The reason for this dissatisfaction is that most corporate strategic plans are simply three-year or five-year rolling budgets combined with market share projections. Calling a rolling budget of this type a “strategic plan” gives people false expectations that the exercise will somehow result in a coherent strategy.
• Βad strategy is the active avoidance of the hard work of crafting a good strategy. One common reason for choosing avoidance is the pain or difficulty of choice. When leaders are unwilling or unable to make choices among competing values and parties, bad strategy is the consequence. A second pathway to bad strategy is the siren song of template-style strategy — filling in the blanks with vision, mission, values, and strategies. This path offers a one-size-fits-all substitute for the hard work of analysis and coordinated action. A third pathway to bad strategy is New Thought — the belief that all you need to succeed is a positive mental attitude.
• The current fill-in-the-blanks template starts with a statement of “vision,” then a “mission statement” or a list of “core values,” then a list of “strategic goals,” then for each goal a list of “strategies,” and then, finally, a list of “initiatives.
• Strategy cannot be a useful concept if it is a synonym for success. Nor can it be a useful tool if it is confused with ambition, determination, inspirational leadership, and innovation. Ambition is drive and zeal to excel. Determination is commitment and grit. Innovation is the discovery and engineering of new ways to do things. Inspirational leadership motivates people to sacrifice for their own and the common good. And strategy, responsive to innovation and ambition, selects the path, identifying how, why, and where leadership and determination are to be applied.
• Unless leadership offers a theory of why things haven’t worked in the past, or why the challenge is difficult, it is hard to generate good strategy.
• There is a large industry of consultants and book writers who are willing to provide instruction on the delicate differences between missions, visions, strategies, initiatives, and priorities. From small boutiques to the large IT-based firms trying to break into strategy work, consultants have found that template-style strategy frees them from the onerous work of analyzing the true challenges and opportunities faced by the client. Plus, by couching strategy in terms of positives — vision, mission, and values — no feelings are hurt.

Good Strategy

Alright then, we’ve discussed what bad strategy is and what it isn’t. But what about good strategy, and what does it include? The author is clear here as well:

• Good strategy is not just “what” you are trying to do. It is also “why” and “how” you are doing it.
• Despite the roar of voices wanting to equate strategy with ambition, leadership, “vision,” planning, or the economic logic of competition, strategy is none of these. The core of strategy work is always the same: discovering the critical factors in a situation and designing a way of coordinating and focusing actions to deal with those factors.
• A good strategy includes a set of coherent actions. They are not “implementation” details; they are the punch in the strategy. A strategy that fails to define a variety of plausible and feasible immediate actions is missing a critical component.
• A strategy is a way through a difficulty, an approach to overcoming an obstacle, a response to a challenge. If the challenge is not defined, it is difficult or impossible to assess the quality of the strategy. And if you cannot assess a strategy’s quality, you cannot reject a bad strategy or improve a good one.
• Good strategy grows out of an independent and careful assessment of the situation, harnessing individual insight to carefully crafted purpose. Bad strategy follows the crowd, substituting popular slogans for insights. Being independent without being eccentric and doubting without being a curmudgeon are some of the most difficult things a person can do.

Strategist is a Designer, not a Priest

By giving this title, I chose to convey what I personally perceive both from Rumelt’s work and from my brief journey in communication and marketing.

[…] doing strategy is more like designing a high-performance aircraft than deciding which forklift truck to buy or how large to build a new factory. When someone says “Managers are decision makers,” they are not talking about master strategists, for a master strategist is a designer.

Strategic work is neither visual nor wishful thinking. It is a process that dismantles, discovers, and reveals. Beyond trends, banalities, and assurances, it is the way to exist and not just … a superficial restatement of the obvious combined with a generous sprinkling of buzzwords.

Thank you for reading.

originally published at medium.com