Mary got me thinking about strategic planning this last week. Which lead me to these two statements:
- The second worse thing you can do for your company is have a strategic plan. (you know, that 120 page book)
- The worse thing you can do for your company is not have a strategy.
If you don't know where you are going, you may already be there.
Hey, I worked at Novell where every quarter we had a brand new strategy. Spent a lot of time and money doing it too. Hmmm, looks like they're the open source company for enterprises now.
My suggestion is more around defining what you want to be at some point down the road. But don't try to figure out the most direct route to get there. 'Cause opportunities and roadblocks will pop up on the way. But keep heading the same direction.
But most importantly believe in what you are doing. Looking for validation of your strategy from "experts" and "luminaries" is a fools game. If you aspire to be a leader in your market, be a leader. If you're a follower, you don't need a strategy.
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