To achieve great, we must focus on the concepts and strategy above all else. Tactics, the execution day to day, matter but not without a firm grasp on the first.
Strategy steers the ultimate possibilities of your venture
In order to achieve greatness in our personal and professional life we must consider the arc of our strategy. It is an arc that will shift over time, but the foundations you set down allow all things to grow and build upon them.
Like the soil you set below a seedling that grows to become a strong oak, your decision on what soil you set is the difference in the magnitude of your success. I love this analogy, for we do not really know how many branches will grow and this precisely fits the metaphor or building a business or product.
You see — the strategy sets the course, culture, and possibilities of growth. The execution seated upon this foundation aligned to the strategy determines the outcome. That is why we must set a strategy, and here is what we must consider.
Keep these close to your heart, secrets to Strategy
Understand the problem you want to solve
Who has this problem
How do you want to solve it
Focus must be on the problem and the demographic of who will benefit from your work. For instance…
— Rwanda Hospital Case Study —
My strategy: Bring Health to Rwanda Coffee Farmers
What/Who/How — broken down:
- What — No medical facility within 20 miles and 4 hour travel. Rampant curable disease and life limiting injuries as result.
- Who — 92% have never been to doctor in region. Coffee Farmers
- How — We can solve by building a hospital in center of needed area staffed by local nurses, managed by local Mayor, and funded through individual donors from around the GA.
What you don’t see — the how, the who, the events, the calls, the mechanics, the people, the contractor, the permits… you see they were all necessary but without the strategy and crystallization of the concepts we would never succeed.
Strategy as it applies to you
This applies to the products you wish to bring to market, the cybersecurity ambitions of your organization, the business you seek to grow, and anything else that matters in your world. This applies universally and is something we have a great lacking around, and something entirely in our control.
Take the time to set your strategy, be precise, and then GO EXECUTE!!!!
Pitfalls — daydreaming vs. strategy
A bit of a warning….
- Strategy is not penning ideas down in a notebook and never acting on them.
- Strategy is not daydreaming, hoping, wishing, or anything so vacant.
Beware the slippery slope mistaking planning for strategy. Strategy is deep cerebral thought paired with explicit identification of the problem statement that we are solving against. Once that anchor is in place, it is time to move forward.
Nothing is better in this world than seeing what you create become a reality. The joy is in the surprise of it’s manifestation and the impact it serves. Embrace the journey, recognize it’ll shift and change as it becomes real, and celebrate the ups and downs.
What is your slippery slope when seeking to bring your ideas to fruition?
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About Me
I am a father, study of human behavior, strategist, cybersecurity executive, and a coach and mentor on a journey to give more than I receive everyday. I lead teams globally, build products, and daily an executive for a leading company where I serve the largest companies in the world using the largest cloud deployments in the world impacting the financial services, healthcare, and fintech industries. I provide these publications and content through my media agency to deliver insights and advantages. Mindset, mental strength, mentorship, personal improvement, health, fitness, and humanist ideas are drawn from personal research and practice. Everything read and heard is my original works and my own perspective. All rights reserved for noted authors and sources. I produce research and strategy, as well as provide advisory services that include inquiries, briefings, consulting projects, and presentations on published findings as well as bespoke speaking engagements where I often keynote at conferences, seminars, and roundtables annually.