Does your business have a visible positive strategy, or do your customers and employees still see your primary focus as closing more sales and killing competitors? Certainly that has been the strategy of many companies, and has worked in the past, but today's customers and workers are looking for more. They want relationships, positive experiences, and a win-win for society.
With the pervasive and instant communication of social media and the Internet, businesses can no longer hide behind the mask of their own hype, either inside the company or outside. The right positive strategy is integral to claiming leadership as well as making it happen.
I just finished a new book, "The Strategic Leader's Roadmap," by Harbir Singh and Michael Useem from the Wharton School, which provides some specific steps along the way. I believe these steps are especially critical to the success of entrepreneurs who are rolling out new businesses today. It all starts with setting the right company strategy, including these elements:
A positive business strategy allows you to lead strategically by mastering the elements of both, separately and as an integrated whole. The authors argue that strategic leadership is an acquired capability that can and must be mastered by managers at all levels. It needs to extend to the firm's directors, as well as investors. Everyone has to think and act strategically.
Another growing force for strategic leadership is the evolution to globalization. New companies are automatically global in reach and visibility, which makes a lack of strategy more impactful, since there is no move to an alternate environment for correction and restart. You need to get it right the first time, or there may not be a next time.
Above all, no company can afford to confuse strategy with tactics. Strategy is the "what" part of the equation, and tactics are the "how" activities. Every business, especially startups, have limited resources to implement tactics, so they need to be totally clear on the strategy first. Even if you could unleash unlimited tactics, the results would be confusing and non-productive to employees and customers alike.
Business success is an elusive target - with over fifty percent of new businesses continuing to fail in the first five years. We are also seeing an increasing number of former leaders disappear from the scene, including Blockbuster, Kodak, and Sharper Image. Start with a focus on strategy, and keep it there. Maybe it's time to check yours with your employees and your customers, and see how positive it is today.