Strategies – What’s the Big Deal?
Strategies convey the way we get things done in organizations. Everybody has them, but the question is: can we explain them? Are they transparent, intentional, and based on shared understanding? Whether we refer to ourselves, our team, or our organization, without attention to strategy, default patterns hold sway and no real change is possible.
Only when we can detect default strategies can we begin the process of change from old patterns to new ones. If we blank out the order we have imposed on our surroundings, and attempt to see the chaos of ever merging, diverging, converging patterns of interactions, communications and activities, we might begin to appreciate the value of adapting and reacting to the environment in new ways. Only when we take the time to consider “old ways” versus “new ways” can we detect the difference and measure results.
Without supporting strategies, goals fall flat and are immune to measurement. Strategies relate to how we define and establish costing systems, or configure and apply management information systems to our business model. Strategies are also the way we tap wisdom at the workplace, and the “rules of thumb” that implicitly inform our decision-making.
When strategies are identified, defined, and understood in the context of the highest goals, they lend themselves to the process of feedback and measurement. So, strategies are the link between goals and outcomes that keep us engaged, talking to one another, debating, evolving ideas, and moving forward.
Next Time: Performance measure opportunities you might have missed.
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