Do we need strategists? Hell yeah!

A few weeks ago I read something quite depressing … apparently there is very little demand for strategists on the conference circle…

Does this mean that our industry has little interest for strategy in general? Does this mean that strategy has been replaced by things we can see, we can touch, things we can play with?

It would explain a lot.

It would explain why most of what we see awarded, rewarded, celebrated at our conferences, and written about in our blogs, are a series of activities and tactics which at beast sprinkle pixie dust but rarely lead to an increase in sales, or a major shift in brand perception (Yershon and Jmac I know you’re with me on this one :) )!

It would explain why people believe that facebook is a strategy, it would explain why people treat a platform like mobile as if it was a strategy, and it would explain why companies keep hiring a head of ‘anything that is in vogue’.

It would also explain why, when standing in front of a corporate audience, people look blankly at you when you ask them if they know what their company strategy, and/or vision is.

It seems like the future of strategy is under threat, and strategists are an endangered species.

This is serious, I mean very serious. We are in a period of change, a period of flux, and I can’t think of a time when strategy is more needed than during a period of change and flux!

Sun Tzu wrote of war “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved”.

Be under no illusion, business and marketing over the next couple of years will resemble a war, a war where only the ones with a clear and solid plan of action (a strategy) will survive.

And be under no illusion, the organisations you see celebrated and hailed on a regular basis for their digital campaigns, for their innovative use of technology and channels (for their tactical activities) …

… the organisations you see achieve victory in changing, confusing and scary times …

… these organisations are the same companies that, like Sun Tzu, have a solid strategy to back up everything they do.

Strategy is the difference between sprinkling pixie dust and achieving a real impact, strategy is the difference between ad hoc success and a sustainable business, strategy is the difference between winning and losing the war!

Don’t take my word for it, but do take Sun Tzu’s – and next time you organise a conference, do roll in the strategists, it’s by involving them that real, valuable and long-term activities will emerge!

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2010
05/25
CATEGORY
Strategy
Thoughts
1 comment

  1. Les politiciens confondent parfois business et politique, tirant des bénéfices indus de leur position politique (les scandales ne manquent pas des deux côtés de la Manche).
    Mais si je pense aujourd’hui aux difficultés que rencontrent les politiques pour maintenir la confiance de leurs électeurs, il me prend l’envie de leur crier: “Hep! Avez-vous une stratégie, dans votre groupe, ou bien vous contentez-vous d’une politique “bling bling”, comme on dit dans notre pays?

    Il faut sans doute, d’ailleurs , lire cette histoire dans les deux sens:
    – Mesdames et messieurs les politiciens, si vous lisez LIRI ANDERSSON’S BLOG FEED, ne devriez vous pas, engager Mlle ANDERSSON comme conseillère en stratégie?

    - Mademoiselle ANDERSSON ne devriez-vous pas vous engager en politique?

    Et puis, une dernière remarque, si nous sommes tentés de confondre apparence et stratégie, un bon remède : acheter le téléphone représenté dans ce blog et le garder pour éviter de retomber dans l’ornière!!!

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