Use good strategy wisely in your business in turbulent times

Don’t risk the future of your business by not taking good strategy seriously

Make time to strategically plan the future of your business

Strategy – is not a buzz word, good strategy will help your business survive

Strategy, not just used in a game of football or chess, but used to help your business win

Good Strategy is essential to the survival of your business

Because your business matters to you, take time to anticipate the challenges your business faces

Meet your business challenges head on, with good strategy

Good Strategy is not without risk – learn from Admiral Nelson the importance of a well thought out strategy

Even when the odds are against you, good strategy can mean that your business survives

Learn from Admiral Nelson how good strategy can bring unlikely victories in your business

Work out your critical challenge and help your business survive in times of turmoil

Why risk the future of your business by not learning from Admiral Nelson the importance of strategy?

How do you ensure your business survives, even against the odds – learn from Admiral Nelson

Stop using buzz words when it comes to the strategic future of your business. Identify and address the challenges ahead like Admiral Nelson did

When the stakes are high implement good strategy for success like Admiral Nelson

How can a well-timed strategy help your business survive?

Start with the right strategy like Steve Jobs did at Apple and secure the future of your business

How your business can learn from Steve Jobs about the importance of a well-timed strategy?

Help your business survive by learning from the patience of Steve Jobs?

When you identify the challenges and actions to help your business, you too can save your business – just like Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs took a risk, by identifying the right challenges and strategy – can you do the same for your business

Time to learn from the patience of Steve Jobs, the importance of good strategy

How can you avoid the pitfalls of bad strategy in your business?

Your business loses of your do not take time to work out your strategy for the future

Good strategy is rare – take the time to get your strategy right

Bad Strategy puts your business at risk

Stop thinking a ‘to do’ list is the strategy for your business

Avoid bad strategy in your business

Avoid the major hallmarks of bad strategy in your business

Give your business a competitive edge by avoiding the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy

Stop thinking a list of ideas is a strategy for your business

If you have not identified the challenges your business faces, then you don’t have a strategy

Gibberish is the downfall of all strategies – don’t let gibberish hold your business back

Watch your business weather turbulent times by avoiding the pitfalls of a bad strategy

Bad strategy can be just as damaging to your business as no strategy

Don’t risk the future of your business by having bad strategy

How does your business avoid the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy?

For your business to survive you need to avoid the pitfalls of bad strategy

Implement good strategy in your business and manage the difficult times

Choose the key challenges to focus your strategy around and watch your business thrive

Strategy will help your business survive and even thrive even when times are tough

How can good strategy steer your business through the difficult times?

How can the hard work of good strategy help your business?

Start getting clarity on your business’ key strategic challenge

Stop thinking that strategy is only about goals, ambition and vision

Do the hard work now and good strategy will give you the edge over your competitors

Take the ambition you have for your business seriously with good strategy

Your business deserves your time and attention – take good strategy seriously

Do the hard work and make good strategy work for your business

Diagnose the challenge and you are on the way to defining the strategy for your business

A set of coherent actions will galvanise your team when working towards the strategy for your business

Actions speak louder than words when it comes to good strategy working for your business

1) Your business, every business needs good strategy. A well outlined good business strategy is essential for the success, sustainability, and survival of your business. Without a good strategy you will lack direction, purpose, efficiency and ultimately profitability. Click here to learn to importance of good strategy to the future of your business.

2) And how can you be sure that the strategy you decide on for the future direction you want your business to go in is absolutely the best strategy? How can you know that the strategy you want to implement will work? Click here to learn that good strategy starts with identifying the biggest and most important challenge your business is facing.

3) Click here to learn that good strategy is about identifying the biggest
and most important challenge that is facing your business and deciding on the right actions to take to overcome this challenge, like Admiral Nelson did at the Battle of Trafalgar.

4) At the Battle of Trafalgar Admiral Nelson went against the traditional sea-battle tactics of the day, knowing that they would bring him certain defeat. Instead he worked out the challenges that faced him and developed a strategy to overcome them. Click here to learn how he won his battle by building his strategy to deal with his biggest and most significant challenge and how you can do the same in your business.

5) An effective business strategy does not just define the goals of your business. Click here to learn that real strategic change comes from identifying the biggest challenges in your business and choosing to do something about them.

6) To get serious about good strategy in your business may mean ignoring some of the other things you would like to do within your business, which is hard (especially if members of your team are involved in some of the things you are now choosing not to do). But for your business to survive in turbulent times, difficult decisions have to be made. Click here to learn that good strategy is about focusing your resources on the most critical issues facing your business, if you are not doing that then you don’t have a strategy.

7) A long list of ‘things to do’ or ‘objectives’ can often get called a strategic plan, but they are normally written down at planning meetings and most of the time do not identify or deal with the biggest and most important challenges facing the business. In business, in battle, in sport and in a game of chess having no strategy or bad strategy means losing. Click here to learn how good strategy can turn your objectives into business wins.

8) Remember good strategy can see your business survive and thrive, bad strategy or no strategy puts your business at risk, so be sure to avoid the 3 major hallmarks of a bad strategy. Click here to learn what the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy are and how to avoid them

9) It doesn’t matter if you’re a government, a multi-national business, a military unit, a sports team or a small local business. No strategy or bad strategy risks losing badly. Especially when facing economic uncertainty, turmoil, big changes in working patterns and changes in expectations. Click here to learn the importance of good strategy and how good strategy shines a light in a storm and gives you the chance to survive that storm, come out of the other end and maybe thrive…

10) Bad strategy mistakes goals, ambition, vision, values and effort for strategy. So, avoid crashing into the rocks and steer your business clear of the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy. Click here to learn the pitfalls of bad strategy and how to ensure your business has a future by avoiding them.

11) Good strategy can give you that advantage, but only if you get clear on your challenge. It needs hard work. Your challenge may be internal, your challenge may be external. Whatever the challenge, when implemented right good strategy can ensure your business survives and thrives. Click here to learn what the 3 elements of good strategy are.

12) Good strategy contains 3 elements. When you take the time and effort to develop good strategy for the future of your business it will galvanise your team and magnify the force of your efforts and actions. Click here to learn more.

13) How do you know that creating a good strategy will work for your business? Well, put simply you don’t, but if you have no strategy or bad strategy then what have you got to lose?

Click here to learn to 4 steps to take to implement good strategy in your business, like Steve Jobs did at Apple.

14) Good strategy saw Admiral Nelson defeat the Franco-Spanish ships against the odds at the Battle of Trafalgar and saw Steve Jobs save Apple and turn it into a $1 trillion success story. Its easy to avoid the hard work of building good strategy. Instead do the work and put your business on the road to a sustainable competitive advantage that sees you win. Click here to learn the 4 steps for good strategy in your business.

1) Your business, every business needs good strategy. A well outlined good business strategy is essential for the success, sustainability, and survival of your business. Without a good strategy you will lack direction, purpose, efficiency and ultimately profitability. Click here to learn to importance of good strategy to the future of your business.

2) And how can you be sure that the strategy you decide on for the future direction you want your business to go in is absolutely the best strategy? How can you know that the strategy you want to implement will work? Click here to learn that good strategy starts with identifying the biggest and most important challenge your business is facing.

3) Click here to learn that good strategy is about identifying the biggestand most important challenge that is facing your business and deciding on the right actions to take to overcome this challenge, like Admiral Nelson did at the Battle of Trafalgar.

4) At the Battle of Trafalgar Admiral Nelson went against the traditional sea-battle tactics of the day, knowing that they would bring him certain defeat. Instead he worked out the challenges that faced him and developed a strategy to overcome them. Click here to learn how he won his battle by building his strategy to deal with his biggest and most significant challenge and how you can do the same in your business.

5) An effective business strategy does not just define the goals of your business. Click here to learn that real strategic change comes from identifying the biggest challenges in your business and choosing to do something about them.

6) To get serious about good strategy in your business may mean ignoring some of the other things you would like to do within your business, which is hard (especially if members of your team are involved in some of the things you are now choosing not to do). But for your business to survive in turbulent times, difficult decisions have to be made. Click here to learn that good strategy is about focusing your resources on the most critical issues facing your business, if you are not doing that then you don’t have a strategy.

7) A long list of ‘things to do’ or ‘objectives’ can often get called a strategic plan, but they are normally written down at planning meetings and most of the time do not identify or deal with the biggest and most important challenges facing the business. In business, in battle, in sport and in a game of chess having no strategy or bad strategy means losing. Click here to learn how good strategy can turn your objectives into business wins.

8) Remember good strategy can see your business survive and thrive, bad strategy or no strategy puts your business at risk, so be sure to avoid the 3 major hallmarks of a bad strategy. Click here to learn what the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy are and how to avoid them

9) It doesn’t matter if you’re a government, a multi-national business, a military unit, a sports team or a small local business. No strategy or bad strategy risks losing badly. Especially when facing economic uncertainty, turmoil, big changes in working patterns and changes in expectations. Click here to learn the importance of good strategy and how good strategy shines a light in a storm and gives you the chance to survive that storm, come out of the other end and maybe thrive…

10) Bad strategy mistakes goals, ambition, vision, values and effort for strategy. So, avoid crashing into the rocks and steer your business clear of the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy. Click here to learn the pitfalls of bad strategy and how to ensure your business has a future by avoiding them.

11) Good strategy can give you that advantage, but only if you get clear on your challenge. It needs hard work. Your challenge may be internal, your challenge may be external. Whatever the challenge, when implemented right good strategy can ensure your business survives and thrives. Click here to learn what the 3 elements of good strategy are.

12) Good strategy contains 3 elements. When you take the time and effort to develop good strategy for the future of your business it will galvanise your team and magnify the force of your efforts and actions. Click here to learn more.

13) How do you know that creating a good strategy will work for your business? Well, put simply you don’t, but if you have no strategy or bad strategy then what have you got to lose?

Click here to learn to 4 steps to take to implement good strategy in your business, like Steve Jobs did at Apple.

14) Good strategy saw Admiral Nelson defeat the Franco-Spanish ships against the odds at the Battle of Trafalgar and saw Steve Jobs save Apple and turn it into a $1 trillion success story. Its easy to avoid the hard work of building good strategy. Instead do the work and put your business on the road to a sustainable competitive advantage that sees you win. Click here to learn the 4 steps for good strategy in your business.

Blog 1 – Use good strategy for difficult decisions in your business

Strategy – you have heard the word bandied about in many business scenarios, probably including your own.

But what does strategy mean?

The dictionary definition states:

“a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim”.

or

“the art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle”.

Your business, every business needs good strategy.

A well outlined good business strategy is essential for the success, sustainability, and survival of your business.

Without a good strategy you will lack direction, purpose, efficiency and ultimately profitability.

However, good strategy is not a shopping list of desirable goals and objectives – even if they are supported by smart sounding words.

And how can you be sure that the strategy you decide on for the future direction you want your business to go in is absolutely the best strategy? How can you know that the strategy you want to implement will work?

Good strategy starts with identifying the biggest and most important challenge your business is facing. When you understand this challenge, you will make the right choices, have the right focus and decide on the right actions to ensure your business survives, even the most turbulent of times.

Click here to learn more about how diagnosing the most significant challenge to your business is the first step to implementing good strategy.

Blog 2 – How Admiral Nelson demonstrates good strategy for your business success

Some business owners fall into the trap of thinking strategy is a wish list of things they would like to do, for example:

• grow by 10%
• recruit more admin or sales staff
• open another branch
• upgrade our computer system

This is not good strategy.

Good strategy is about identifying the biggest
and most important challenge that is facing your business and deciding on the right actions to take to overcome this challenge.

Like Admiral Nelson did at the Battle of Trafalgar.

Nelson went against the traditional sea-battle tactics of the day, knowing that they would bring him certain defeat. Instead he worked out the challenges that faced him and developed a strategy to overcome them.

On October 21^st, 1805 Britain faced a great challenge. 33 Franco-Spanish ships threatened the weaker 27 ships of the British fleet.

Instead of the normal fighting tactics of two opposing fleets staying in line and firing broadside at each other, Nelson broke the British fleet into 2 columns and drove them at the France-Spanish fleet, hitting their line at 90 degrees.

Nelson judged that the Franco-Spanish gunners would not be able to manage their guns in the heavy swell of the day and this would mean that the British could out-manoeuvre them.  He worked out the critical factors of his situation and designed a way of focusing actions to deal with them.

At the end of the battle 22 ships were lost, they were all French or Spanish, the British lost none. Although Admiral Nelson lost his life, his legendary status as a master tactician was secured!

He won his battle by building his strategy to deal with his biggest and most significant challenge – that he was outgunned, outmanned and had significantly less ships.

What are the most significant challenges in your business? What battles will you need to fight for your business to survive and thrive?

Click here to read more of Admiral Nelson’s heroics and how a clearly defined strategy can help your business survive, even in uncertain waters.

Blog 3 – Steve Jobs shows us the importance of well-timed strategy in your business

An effective business strategy does not just define the goals of your business.

Real strategic change comes from identifying the biggest challenges in your business and choosing to do something about them.

This may mean ignoring some of the other things you would like to do within your business, which is hard (especially if members of your team are involved in some of the things you are now choosing not to do).

But for your business to survive in turbulent times, difficult decisions have to be made.

Good strategy is about focusing your resources on the most critical issues facing your business, if you are not doing that then you don’t have a strategy.

Take Steve Jobs for example…

In 1997 Apple were just weeks away from bankruptcy. Then Steve Jobs returned. Initially his most significant challenge was just to keep the business alive!

His coherent action was to cut 15 desktop models back to 1 model, cut all laptop models back to 1 model, cut all printers, cut development engineers and cut software development.

Jobs cut many more things to reflect the reality of having less than 4% of the personal computer market at the time.

There was a clear challenge; clear strategy and it was right for Apple’s situation at that time.

With Apple’s survival secure, Jobs then got clear on to his long-term strategy too:

“I am going to wait for the next big thing”

He knew enough about the market to understand that technology comes in waves. This was a predatory response to the situation, like a lion stalking its prey, he was prepared to lie in wait and pounce at just the right time.

The rise of MP3 players, the iPod, iTunes, and the iPhone transformed the world and Apple went from a $3billion business to a $1trillion dollar business.

Patience is a virtue as they say!

As a business leader your most important responsibility is to identify the biggest challenges facing your business and devise a coherent approach to overcome them, just like Steve Jobs.

Click here to learn how good strategy ensured Apple survived and thrived and how good strategy can ensure your business does the same.

Blog 4 – Avoid the pitfalls of no strategy or bad strategy in your business

It’s a sad fact that in business, good strategy is rare.

For example – 26 CEOs of some of the world’s largest electronics companies were asked about strategy by Anderson Consulting. They were less than clear on their strategy:

“They were making alliances, they were doing 360-degree feedback, they were looking for foreign markets, they were setting challenging strategic goals, they were moving software into firmware”

Not really a coherent set of actions…

A long list of ‘things to do’ or ‘objectives’ can often get called a strategic plan, but they are normally written down at planning meetings and most of the time do not identify or deal with the biggest and most important challenges facing the business.

In business, in battle, in sport and in a game of chess having no strategy or bad strategy means losing.

In his book ‘Good Strategy Bad Strategy’ Richard Rumelt stated:

“The term ‘strategy’ should mean a cohesive response to an important challenge”

Have you ever sat down with your team and identified the biggest challenge facing your business and then focused on actions to overcome it?

Remember good strategy can see your business survive and thrive, bad strategy or no strategy puts your business at risk, so be sure to avoid the 3 major hallmarks of a bad strategy.

Click here to learn what the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy are and how to avoid them and give your business an edge over your competition.

Blog 5 – Give your business a competitive edge by avoiding the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy

It doesn’t matter if you’re a government, a multi-national business, a military unit, a sports team or a small local business. No strategy or bad strategy risks losing badly. Especially when facing economic uncertainty, turmoil, big changes in working patterns and changes in expectations.

Good strategy shines a light in a storm and gives you the chance to survive that storm, come out of the other end and maybe thrive…

But bad strategy sees you heading into the rocks and crashing, while your competition take advantage.

Bad strategy mistakes goals, ambition, vision, values and effort for strategy.

So, avoid crashing into the rocks and steer your business clear of the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy.

Failure to face the challenge

A strategy that does not define a challenge to overcome makes it impossible to evaluate and impossible to improve. All you are doing is wishful thinking and investing time and effort in misdirected strategy.

Gibberish

A strategy written in gibberish masking as strategic concepts is the most common type of bad strategy. It uses overly complicated wording to create an illusion of top-level planning and thinking.

Bad strategic objectives/mistaking goals for strategy

A shopping list of desirable goals and objectives is not strategy as they do not address the critical issues facing your business.  Statements and desires are no strategy at all.

Your business will only survive and thrive in difficult, uncertain and turbulent times if you do the hard work.  Good strategy involves the hard work of diagnosing the key challenges and then making strategic choices, giving focus and coherent action.

It is possible that your competition will avoid this hard work. Will you?

Click here to learn more about the 3 major hallmarks of bad strategy and how to avoid them to give your business the edge over your competition.

Blog 6 – Good strategy is the key to your business winning, even in tough times

There are a multitude of distractions in your business that can lure you away and stop you from focusing on the things that really matter.

But when you take the time and effort to develop good strategy for the future of your business it will galvanise your team and magnify the force of your efforts and actions.

How can you not take the time and effort to do this?

Diagnosing the key challenges gives you focus. And focus means choosing what to ignore and what to act on.

Do this hard strategy work and you gain a competitive advantage.  It’s worth remembering that Warren Buffett, one of the world’s most successful investors, said that he evaluates a company by looking for ‘sustainable competitive advantage’.

Good strategy can give you that advantage, but only if you get clear on your challenge. It needs hard work.

Your challenge may be internal – perhaps a disengaged team member is limiting your productivity levels.

Your challenge may be external – supply shortages of a key component, new technology or a new competitor.

Good strategy contains 3 elements:

• Diagnosing your most significant challenge 
• Setting out your guiding policy
• Creating a set of coherent actions to address your challenge

Click here to learn more about the competitive edge good strategy can give you and the 3 important elements to that strategy.

Blog 7 – Is now a good time to take good strategy seriously in your business?

How do you know that creating a good strategy will work for your business?

Well, put simply you don’t…but if you have no strategy or bad strategy then what have you got to lose?

Good strategy saw Admiral Nelson defeat the Franco-Spanish ships against the odds at the Battle of Trafalgar and saw Steve Jobs save Apple and turn it into a $1 trillion success story.

Its easy to avoid the hard work of building good strategy. Instead do the work and put your business on the road to a sustainable competitive advantage that sees you win.

The 4 steps below sound like stating the obvious, but most businesses fail to take all 4 steps – what will you do?

Stop thinking that the goals and objectives you have for your business are the same as good strategy – Goals are great but little more than wishful thinking without the 3 elements of good strategy below.

Diagnose the significant challenge your business is facing – what is holding you back from reaching the goals for your business? What is the key challenge you are up against?

A diagnosis can simplify the issues in front of you and allow you to see the ones that are business critical.

Richard Rumelt states in his book ‘Good Strategy Bad Strategy’:

“In business, most deep strategic changes are brought about by a change in diagnosis – a change to the company’s situation”

Choose your business’ guiding policies that give focus to your actions - this is an overall approach to help overcome the obstacles identified in the diagnosis. Your guiding policies will ensure that you stay focused on how you should respond.

Work out your coherent actions to leverage greater success for your business – these will help you overcome your diagnosed challenge and follow your guiding policy. The actions should be clear, coherent and easy to understand and all work together and not against each other.

Click here to learn about the importance of good strategy to your business survival, growth and future success.

Monthly email to share the business breakthrough with your contacts.

Subject: ​​How can the right strategy help your business survive and thrive?

Preview text: Your complimentary Business Breakthrough

​Main email wording:

There are many challenges facing your business, especially at the moment.

But when someone mentions the word strategy, do you roll your eyes and think, here we go?

Strategy can mean anything and nothing – but it shouldn’t.

It’s the difference between your business winning or losing…

When you work out the biggest and most important challenges your business is facing, it will enable you to make the right choices and give you real focus to decide on the right coherent actions.

In this ‘Good Strategy’ edition of Business Bitesize you will learn, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea:

• ​that Nelson’s unlikely victory at Trafalgar came from him focusing on the critical challenge in his situation and coming up with the right strategy
• why cutting product lines and being patient helped Steve Jobs save Apple from bankruptcy
• why good strategy leaves no room for gibberish

Take the future of your business seriously and invest time and energy building a good strategy.

Click here to focus on the coherent actions needed to implement the right strategy for your business.

​Email to go with Blog 1

Headline:

Subheading: