How do you overcome common strategy pitfalls?

In my experience, early-stage organizations create products/solutions without a revenue model in mind. It wastes an enormous amount of resources to craft a product and product pipeline to then learn it isn't saleable. Strategy must align corporate roadmap, product timeline, marketing strategy, and sales strategy/tactical execution. It is a complex, sales leader need to educate up in many instances. Strategy dies without alignment and strategy is not a plan. The sales cycles dictates how much runway is needed and should place the urgency on product & eng +marketing. Too often, all of the runway is burned building product with the expectation that a well networked commercial leader can shave a year off of a lengthy sales cycle.

I would add aligning your "why" to this, meaning, what is the thing that keeps you going through the hard times in your business?

In my experience, it is important to seek outside views. Talk to outside experts, consultants, or mentors who can give you new ideas and push you to think differently. Their different backgrounds and knowledge can help you find weak spots and avoid common problems. its also important to review and change ones approach often. It shouldn't be something you do just once. Review your plan often, keeping in mind how the market, customer needs, and your own abilities are changing. Be ready to change your plan if you need to in order to stay competitive and reach your goals.

The best strategy in the world isn’t going to work without alignment, and there’s plenty of literature and process to help achieve that, and people that can advise. But the biggest impact comes from top leadership. If you’re a top leader, make the vision simple to understand, then talk about it a lot, and then some more. Keep talking about it and don’t stop. Go out and meet as many of your people as you can and tell them about it. Show passion and engage people. If people can’t align try to help them, and if they still can’t, then help them move on to something else. Make highly visible rewards and promotions for those that are able to demonstrate the values and how actively support the strategy. Don’t stop, don’t declare victory too soon.

In my experience aligning yourself to you vision is a fundamental building block to realize your vision. I have been 22 years doing full-time sales, accross industry, 17 years in Real Estate. When your passion alligns with your skill set producing unusual monetary value you have found your "sweetspot". I have seen much fulfillment when doing Real Estate sales. Creativity comes at unexpected times on how to do things better. During the 4 years in corporate sales the nagging desire to cross back to real estate couldn't leave me. I took the leap and today I am selling Real estate in Dubai. My vision to have my own Real estate brokerage has never burnt brighter. I takes risk which is fundamentally important to be aligned to your vision.

One effective strategy to overcome analysis paralysis is to employ the concept of rapid prototyping. Rapid prototyping involves creating quick and low-cost prototypes or simulations to test and validate different options before committing to a final decision. By quickly visualizing and experiencing the potential outcomes, you can gather tangible feedback and insights, enabling you to make more informed decisions. This approach not only reduces the time spent on extensive analysis but also encourages a more proactive and iterative approach to problem-solving. Alternatively, get a set of fresh eyes. Engage an external consultancy ;-)!

“This is how I was taught.” Aahhhhhhg. This is where being “coachable” in your work/life is so critical to the success of these projects/goals. Thanks! Sheila

Many attempts to successfully and sustainably implement new strategies fail because leaders underestimate the resistant nature of organizational cultures. Transformation cannot occur solely by changing policies. Transformation starts with people, particularly those who spearhead conversations around change. Organizations need to invest in educating leaders on the importance of human-centered approaches for long-term sustainable relevance. Leaders must unlearn and re-learn the principles of human centricity when it comes to driving real change in organizations and putting them into practice consistently. When you have the people's buy-in, strategy implementation becomes a lot easier.

In the US Army, we had an acronym LDRSHIP, which stood for Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

Embrace innovation and adaptability as key components of your strategy. In today's rapidly changing business and leadership landscape, it is essential to continuously innovate and adapt to stay ahead of the competition. Encourage a culture of creativity and experimentation, where new ideas are welcomed and tested. Foster an environment that values learning from both successes and failures, allowing for quick adjustments and course corrections. By embracing innovation and adaptability, you can ensure that your strategy remains relevant and effective in an ever-evolving market.