Thinking Strategically

When my husband and I joined a neighborhood group made up of families that attended the same church, we attempted to get to know one another through the use of ice-breaker questions. A question posed to me was "if you were to be stranded on a desert island, what one person would you want with you?" My knee-jerk reaction was "my husband." This was the right answer emotionally, but it wasn't the right answer strategically. The right strategic answer would have been "Bob."

You see, my neighbor Bob can build or fix anything. So our chances at having decent shelter while on the island, as well as building some type of boat that floated in order to escape the island, would go up exponentially if Bob were with me on this pretend island. Also, Bob is a hunter and fisherman, so we likely wouldn't go hungry. While my husband is handy, he doesn't possess these talents in the same way Bob does. So, Bob was the strategic answer.

(Then once we had escaped the island and were rescued, I would use my talents to land the book and movie deals. I would also get Bob a show on HGTV - "Survival Home Improvement." My husband and I would buy the island and offer extreme vacations to those who wanted to experience being stranded. We would all then become inspirational speakers. So, all in all, not too bad if the choice had been Bob.)

Are you thinking strategically about your business or are you relying on emotional or knee-jerk reactions?  If you're doing things the way they have always been done, in this economy you're likely getting less of what you've always gotten.  Ouch.

Find the time to step back and consider your situation with fresh eyes - focusing on strategic solutions.

Comments

[Debra Helwig]

Barbara, hooray for your storytelling and your good sense! You are absolutely right. Every professional services firm today should be focusing intently on strategic activities - especially defining who their strategic clients, potential clients, and referral sources are and how best to delight them. This is not the time to take a shotgun "any money is good money" approach, no matter how scary the economy appears to be.