I used to be very confident in building my own “business strategy”. But the more I did it, the more I found myself falling into a spiral of confusion, the plan kept getting thicker and the team was exhausted. It took me many years of my early years to realize: I had misunderstood strategy from the beginning and had to fix it from the root.
When “Strategy” Is Just a Promotional Plan
I vividly remember my company’s first strategy meeting of the year three years ago. As CEO, I laid out a very detailed plan:
- Open 2 more branches.
- Increase sales by 40%.
- Boost online channels.
- Launch a new product every quarter.
At first glance, everyone nods: the CEO has vision and direction. But what is the truth? We opened more branches but revenue did not increase and costs increased. New products were launched but no one bought them. Online channels burned money on advertising but conversion was not commensurate. The team became increasingly confused, because they kept working without seeing the destination.
I had confused an action plan with a development strategy. What I had was just a list of “to do” tasks, not a system of thinking that helped the company choose what to do and what not to do.
“I understand my business best” – the sweet trap of the leader
As a founder, I always believe that I understand customers, the market, and the team better than anyone else. So when someone suggested: “You should invite a strategy expert to accompany you”, I immediately dismissed it. I thought: strategy is just a few beautiful slides, how can outsiders understand the business’s heart like me?
This mistake cost me 2 years and nearly 2 billion VND for wrong decisions.
I chose the wrong customer segment – expanding into the low-end customer group when my entire operation was designed to serve the mid- and high-end customers. I invested in a technology platform because I saw the market shift, but I didn’t check if my team was ready to operate it.
Looking back, I steered the business ship based on my emotions, according to the market, not on a carefully calculated roadmap.
Strategy is about choice, not about collecting everything
I used to think: a strong business is one that can do many things, serve many people, and reach many segments. But when all resources are limited from money, people to time, then taking on too much is the fastest way to lose direction.
Strategy, as I learned later, is the art of choice: choosing the right customer, the right sales channel, the right product, the right time. And more importantly: dare to let go of things that are no longer suitable.
When I bring a strategist on board, the first thing they do is not write a strategy, but ask questions. They ask me:
- Who are the customers that actually bring in 80% of your revenue?
- Is each segment profitable or unprofitable?
- Which products are core, which are “fun”?
- What is your vision for the next 5 years and what is the real path to get there?
These questions forced me to look at the holes I had been avoiding.
Having a strategy doesn’t guarantee success, but not having a strategy guarantees failure
I’m not writing this to encourage every business to hire experts. I’m just sharing the perspective of someone who once thought he could do it all himself and paid the price.
Strategy is an uncomfortable, but necessary, process of self-reflection. It forces leaders to stop, not just to think, but to reshape the entire way they think about how their business operates.
When you have the right strategy, you stop chasing the market and start leading the market your way.
I don’t regret being wrong. But I regret not stopping sooner to fix it. If you are running a business and feel like you are running forever, maybe you don’t need to speed up. Maybe, what you need is the right strategy to get you going in the right direction.
