Is Work Keeping You Up at Night?

Are ‘What Ifs’ Keeping You Up At Night?

Do you ever wake up late at night in a cold sweat wondering if all the hard work you are doing to execute your strategy is really going to make a difference? Sure, your strategy is sound, after all experts helped pull it together, but what if something’s missing? What if the market is experiencing a shift that you can’t quite put your fingers on? What if your competition is suddenly pivoting in an unexpected direction? What if … you just missed something or the unexpected is happening (just like it did last year and the year before that)?

You Are Not Alone

Every executive gets these night sweats and instead of living in a state of uncertainty they put in place a system of checks and balances at the strategic level, while they are focused on executing their game plan. This ensures that the strategic approach is sound, while your team is heads down on executing.

The tendency is to take the business strategy and jump in with both feet and execute like crazy. Two years later, you look around, pleased with your progress and you suddenly realize that things are changing. Just because you are the big dog, doesn’t mean that you will be king of the hill forever. Creating future-based scenarios six months, twelve months, and three years out helps you to see what might be ahead, but also see what is around the corners completely unexpected. Determining the business capabilities and the associated investments that line up with your strategic plan ensures that you are placing the right bets and align them with your overall objectives.

Too often we bring in big gun consultants or industry experts to help advise us. They make the requisite noises around market share, growth opportunities, competitive positioning, and leave you a thick binder and a slick powerpoint. All this work and lost time often lack the substance of what to do and, even more importantly, what to do differently … and when to do it.

Too late you realize that things are changing fast. Lots of big money from competition, private equity and others is flowing into markets that you just didn’t expect because your teams have been so focused on execution of your plan. New opportunities are emerging domestically and internationally that you just don’t have time to pay attention to.

You Need An ‘Insider’

That is where ‘insiders’ can provide a unique perspective. Trusted ‘insiders’ are experts who have walked in your shoes, built and transformed businesses from the inside, and know your space. They also have a perspective that allows them to be your partner in ensuring that your strategy is still on point and, as scenarios change, can provide guidance around what needs to be fine-tuned in your strategy and on your blueprint. Equally important is to constantly monitor that the capabilities you are building, acquiring, and/or growing are still aligned to the direction you need to be headed.

We have a results-based process that helps ensure that your strategic agenda is sound, quarter after quarter, and that the blueprint that you are executing is going to get you the results that are expected. In a 20-minute call we can explore how our ‘insider’ approach can make you sleep better and when you are awake, ensure that your team is executing the right blueprint. Call us, it’s what we do.