Business strategy. Product strategy. Marketing strategy. A business should have a strategy that cascades and align with the strategies of all departments. At least in theory.
I read a couple of books (Good strategy / Bad strategy is a good one), I’ve been to multiple strategy sessions, from big companies (DeliveryHero), to high growth startups (instacar).
Generally, it’s a simple process, there are some basic principles in place but its mostly custom to fit the needs of the company and the participated audience.
In every strategy session I always try to remind myself and the audience the following:
In which projects will we say NO?
There are high-priority projects, there are critical projects, there are innovative projects but what truly matters is to define which projects are out of scope. We will not do them.
Saying no has multiple advantages:
- It’s clear priority assessment.
- It helps you focus.
- It keeps you accountable.
The best strategy sessions I’ve been, the NO projects were clearly defined. Try it, it’s not easy but quite effective.
