Good Strategy Goes Unnoticed. Bad Strategy Goes Under. A 3-Question Strategy Test.

Another thing I like about small business and entrepreneurship is that you live the strategy without the elaborate frameworks and detailed analysis. As companies get bigger, strategy gets harder. SWOT It’s much more likely to take teams of experts tons of detail work.

Big companies are like big ships. They change course slowly. There are lots of moving parts involved.

For you and me and small business in general, strategy is always happening, whether you like it or not. And if you screw it up, changing it too frequently, failing to focus, trying to do everything, then it hurts.

Strategy for us? It’s really about focus. You can’t do everything, so you do the right thing.

  • You can’t please everybody, so you select who you please based on common sense, your strengths and your weaknesses, and how you’re different.
  • You can’t sell everything, so you sell what you’re really good at, what makes you appealingly different, and what sets you apart.
  • You can’t do everything so you do what’s most important, what gives you the most benefit per unit of resources, what aligns you best with your target market and your focused business offering.

Here’s a quick test: do a SWOT analysis, as in the illustration here. List your strengths, your weaknesses, your opportunities, and threats. Then think about your strategy. Does it pass the SWOT test, or not? Does SWOT bring up something you’re doing wrong?

And another quick test: the principal of displacement, which means everything you do rules out something else that you won’t do. Think about it: are you doing the right things? Or are you trying to do everything?

And finally, a third quick test: do you ever say no to anything? When? Why not?

(Image credit: istockphoto.com)

Comments

  • Social Media Marketing HQ | Learn Social Media From the Industry's Brightest Minds » Good Strategy Goes Unnoticed, But Bad Strategy Goes Under says:

    […] Software, founder of bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International.  This post was originally published on his blog, Planning Startups Stories, and is republished here with […]

  • Janet Kyle Altman says:

    I’d add three more critical strategy tasks for a new venture:

    1. Size your target market. Remember, saying “it’s infinite, because everyone will be interested in my product” is not an acceptable answer.
    2. Complete realistic sales projections. Realistic is the key word here.
    3. Get a good idea of your unit costs and your margins. Can you actually make a profit?

    Of course, if you want to make sure you’ve covered all the key aspects of strategy, you’re best off doing a simple business plan. Potential investors, potential lenders, even your partners (business and life!) will have more confidence if they see you’ve taken the time to think it through.

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