In my 10 years in business, I have written dozens of detailed, methodical action plans with deadlines and KPIs, and I used to think that was a “strategy”. It was not until the company fell into a state of “doing everything but getting nowhere” that I realized: I had systematically made a mistake. And the price I had to pay was not small, not only in revenue, but also in the trust of my team and my own confusion.
Strategy is not a 12-month Excel plan
We – business owners – often get caught up in the “action game”: what to do this quarter, what product to launch, which branch to open, how much marketing budget is needed…
And then, we write 10–20 page plans that look systematic.
I used to be like that too. The plan is thick, after the team meeting, everyone is enthusiastic, and the implementation is rushed. But after 3–6 months, I started to see the problem:
- Each department goes in a different direction, making it difficult to connect to common goals.
- The team is tired of constant change, with no “destination” in sight.
- Revenue increases, but profit margins do not increase, or even decrease.
- Market expansion but loyal customers gradually decrease.
I realized: I was chasing short-term results without a really clear long-term direction. I had a plan, but I had no strategy.
Common Mistakes About “Strategy” That I Used To Make
Later, when I sat down to review from the beginning, I found that I and many other businesses often fell into the following 3 dangerous misconceptions:
Thinking of strategy as concrete action
“Increase revenue by 50% next year”, “launch 3 new products”, “expand to the Central region” – these are goals or plans, not strategies. Strategy must answer the questions: Why do we choose this path? Where are the competitors? How will we be different to win?
Thinking Strategy Is Copying From Another Business
I once copied the entire model of a larger company in the industry – from the way they sold to the way they positioned themselves – and thought “I just need to do the same and I will grow”. But my business has different resources, different customer base, different brand story. That copying made me lose direction in my own playing field.
I thought the more goals, the stronger
At one stage, my strategy had… 7 pillars at the same time. Each pillar had a team leader in charge. The result? Dispersed resources, conflicting priorities, and no pillar going all the way.
What does a good strategy need to be based on?
After some debating with a strategy consultant friend (and many sleepless nights), I have come up with a few minimum elements that any business strategy should have:
The Definitive Choice
You can’t serve all customers, and you can’t do everything. Strategy requires eliminating the unimportant. Pick a segment, pick a core competency, and pick a way to differentiate – that’s the backbone.
Data and Facts, Not Intuition
Strategy cannot be written with emotion. Every choice in strategy needs to be based on reality: the market, the competition, consumer behavior, your own internal capabilities. I used to “think it was right” so much that I lost touch with reality.
The team must “live” the strategy
A good strategy that the team does not understand, believe in, and agree with is useless. I learned the lesson: strategy does not just reside in the leader’s head – it must be translated into the daily behavior, language, and decisions of the entire company.
Can strategy change?
I used to think: strategy should be fixed for at least 3–5 years. But in reality, it is not like that.
Markets change, customers change, and your business changes. Your strategy must be consistent enough to provide direction, but flexible enough to adjust as circumstances change. It’s important to know what you’re adjusting:
- Adjusting the strategy execution, or
- Adjusting the core strategy (extremely cautious)
Changing strategy is not wrong. The mistake is not daring to look back and stubbornly continuing with a direction that is no longer suitable.
If …
If I could do it all over again, I wouldn’t start by writing a plan. I would start with a simple but important question: “Where is my business different and how do I want it to be different in the next 5 years?”
Strategy is not “a long plan”. Strategy is a compass for the team to look in the same direction, even when the road is bumpy, even when the plan has to change.
I write these lines not to teach anyone, but to share the truth, hoping that those who are starting or feeling lost, will not take 2 years like me to understand: Strategy is the root. If the root is wrong, all the efforts above will be tiring.
