When it comes to Strategy, the Basics is more important than being Clever

I used to sing in a choir and since I started facilitating strategy sessions, this line from a hymn by Anna Warring almost always comes to mind a couple of days before a session.

"I would not have the restless will that hurries to and fro; Seeking for some great thing to do or secret thing to know;"

The above words confirm the view I believe we should take when we approach strategy development in organizations. We go to a great extent to examine trends and explore what's changing or to find a secret sauce that will become the basis for our strategy. This is good and we also need to examine what is NOT changing and the ideas in plain sight.

It’s been proven that setting strategy around what is unchanging also creates a lot of value. Jeff Bezos of Amazon is not shy to proclaim this approach.  For example, customers will always love lower prices. If you set a strategy to achieve this, you will beat the competition.

I have a simple ask: Stop hurrying to and fro and focus on the core issues affecting the business.

Sometimes covering the basics is more important than being clever. It's a balance between the simple and the complex strategies.

Robert Marshall Bennin, CFA, CPTD, FIoD

(Founder & Chief Learning Strategist, TEMPLE Advisory Limited)