Does Anyone Understand Strategy?
When I visit companies and have conversations with management and staff, the first thing I notice is that things are often made very complex. We see a lot of paper, power points, measurements and strategic goals. Big number of process charts and ambiguous concepts. A lot of meetings where just looking at the agenda makes you exhausted.
Often it is so that the employees are trying their best to reach too many goals at once without any of them really progressing. Just when a project is about to be finished, another one starts, leaving the previous one unfinished.
In a complex world we need clarity, transparency, simplifications and sensible strategies, which stick to mind and cause actions. We don’t need complex process charts and how-to manuals, which are considerably more complicated than the instruction manual of my stereo. Even the stereo wouldn’t work without the help of a professional.
From concrete observations I have moved onto studying this fascinating topic from a scientific point of view. I promise to deliver highly interesting figures and statistics on this very soon. Is anyone really familiar with the common strategy? Or what what kind of strategy actually works?
Maarika Maury
The writer is CEO of Kissconsulting Ltd. She is currently writing her dissertation in University of Vaasa. She believes in the power of simple things, simple, effective strategies, clear processes and easy tools of development.
