So, there’s this question on LinkedIn, asking a plethora of “strategy consultants” a valuable, fairly straightforward question:
“Should we spend more time and effort on developing strategy or focusing on implementation?“
Now, never mind whether you believe we should focus more on strategy or implementation, per se. For the record, I believe that — pound-for-pound — we need more execution (implementation) today. But frankly, that’s a separate conversation, and we can have that later.
No, today’s topic is dealing with consultants… why in heaven’s name is it so hard to just get a simple answer to a simple question?? Must everything be a philosophical waxing, destined to replace Lunesta and Ambien as executive sleep aids?
Responses to the simple question above included paragraphs —paragraphs — of babbling about strategy frameworks, tactical directions, holistic processes, organizational legitimacy, andanalytical and implementation phases. One such response actually included the phrase, “…the holistic process of strategy is dependent of a number of variables within the two aspects of strategy.”
What???
I’ve got a neat idea… instead of saying how the question is a “false premise,” or missives about “…the iron fist of Shareholder Returns” (seriously???) just answer the damn question!
Strategy is not a difficult process. A bit complex, maybe, but not overly difficult. We (the global “we”) tend to complicate things unnecessarily, and often consultants are leading that complication charge.
I have simple advice: Stop it. Keep it simple. Plan, execute, evaluate. Rinse and repeat.
And consultants… guys, really… just answer the damn question!
But that’s just me…
