17. Frogging It - 6 Levers to Gain Traction
I am learning how to knit. It’s humbling. My hands stumble over themselves but when I find a good knit or purl rhythm, it is an incredibly calming experience.
I am good at making small rectangles (so if you need one, you know where to find me). But when I started a hat using circular needles, I ended up frogging it.
Frogging is a knitter’s nice way of saying “starting over to correct a mistake.” You pull your working yarn so the row comes undone until you can begin anew.
The experience got me thinking about a conversation I had recently.
“What if our strategy doesn’t work?”
It’s a good question...
We discussed how strategy involves making decisions in the face of uncertainty. It’s defining what you will and won’t do, testing hypotheses, prioritizing, sequencing, following through, and correcting course, as needed.
Here are 6 levers to help your strategy gain traction.
1. Does your team know about it? – It’s great that you developed a new strategy, but have you communicated it? Not just once, but many times, and in many ways. Articulate the “burning platform” so everyone understands what is happening, when, and most importantly, why.
2. Have you addressed the WIIFM-factor? – Change is hard. Even good change. Have you articulated how the change may affect everyone on the team – good or bad – so they have time to process (e.g., What’s In It For Me)? People want to see themselves in the future.
3. Are you incentivizing new behaviors? – If your strategy will focus on a new market, are you rewarding behaviors that encourage risk-taking or maintain the status quo? It takes time to grow a new account, so make sure your team has enough run time and incentives for the progress you want to see.
4. Have market conditions changed? – You created your strategy at a certain point in time. Have new conditions developed – like a global pandemic, new competitor, or loss of talent? Each can affect your initial hypotheses or timelines, so look for ways that you may have to pivot to take these changes into account.
5. Are you following through? – A lot of great strategies sit on the shelf. Is your leadership team consistently reviewing progress toward your priorities and goals? Ensure clear accountability to follow through and achieve your vision.
6. Are adjustments needed? – Ideally, you are managing, measuring, and maturing your strategy on a consistent basis (think weekly or bi-weekly and definitely quarterly) so there are few surprises. Instead of waiting until the end of the year to figure out what happened, adjust along the way.
Now, reference number 1 to make sure you clearly communicate it.
So, what does it look like for your business?
What levers can you activate to gain increased traction?
Where have you seen the greatest impact?
What is one thing you can do today to drive greater clarity?
I help small technology and professional services businesses scale and grow.
This means leaders work ON the business instead of IN the business. Whether it's a 10-year vision, 3-year strategy, or 90-day action plan - we partner to achieve your goals.
If you want to break through to the next level in your business, drop me a message, and we'll arrange a 15-min call to see if I can help.
To your success,
~Susan
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