The ancestor of every action is a thought. – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Let’s debunk the myth that strategy is high and lofty, something done only by those people in the corner office. Everybody does strategy.
Everybody naturally uses a five step strategy method without even realizing it… every day. Their “strategy” is the way they think they should go in any given situation. Have you ever noticed the path between sidewalks where the grass is worn out? That’s strategy.
It’s called a desire path. From Wikipedia: “…[it’s] a path created as a consequence of erosion caused by human or animal foot-fall or traffic. The path usually represents the shortest or most easily navigated route between an origin and destination.”
That’s strategy. Plain, simple, practical, usually innovative. To borrow from Emerson, strategy is the ancestral thinking for the actions people take every day to achieve some objective they have in mind.
What if people knew they were actually natural strategists? What if, with a little training and encouragement, people in you and the people in your organization developed their natural abilities for strategy? And then, what if everyone’s natural capability to create practical, innovative strategies were aligned to the best path forward for your business?
It’s not, as they say, rocket science. Your business would be getting better each day.
That’s practical, natural strategy.
