A Strategy is Not a List of Projects

So often, when I begin working with a client, I ask the client to show me their digital strategy. Much of the time I am handed a list of projects. Let me be clear. That is not a digital strategy.  

A strategy is NOT a list of projects. It is not a catalog of desired technology upgrades or new software that an organization needs to implement. It is not a bevy of projects that gets turned into a Gantt chart. 

To be fair, these are important, but they are not a strategy. There is a critical piece missing. That critical piece is context. Those do not endear itself into business alignment so that the organization can move in the right direction. To achieve business alignment when it comes to organizational momentum, a strategy is essential.  

What is a Strategy? 

At a high level, a strategy is a documented and developed approach to move an organization to its desired future state. It is comprised of guideposts which are the goals that the organization would like to achieve. An example of a guidepost is that we want to have the best customer experience in our market. Guideposts lead to destinations.  

A critical part of developing a strategy is to define your destinations. These are the specific results you expect to gain from the strategy. Key on the word specific. Destinations are quantifiable. They are measurable. 

An example of a defined destination leading to the guidepost of having the best customer experience in the market would be, “we want a 25% improvement on customer surveys around how their experience was with us.” Pretty specific. If this destination is not met, you know you need to go back to the strategy and make some adjustments.   

Why is a Strategy Important? 

Success is intentional. It doesn’t come accidentally. What helps create intentionality? A strategy. A strategy allows you to look at project and say, “will that project that we are thinking about undertaking help move us closer to where we want to be?” A strategy is a loadstar. It is a map. It is a compass. It is a guide. Without one? Sure, you can still move but you have no idea if it is in the right direction. A strategy will lead you there.  

How do you Build a Digital Strategy? 

Maybe the most important component to a strategy is buy-in. There must be engagement from across the organization. A strategy cannot be siloed in IT. A strategy should involve leadership and key stakeholders from across the organization. It must be communicated throughout all levels of the organization. IT should not be driving the strategy. Business units and leadership from across the organization need to define the guideposts and destinations.  

Finally, and maybe most critically, the environment must have fertile ground for a strategy to take root. Often, organizations don’t have the foundations in place to execute on a strategy. If you don’t have the environment in place, even a well-developed strategy will fail.  

I don’t feel right delivering a strategy to an organization that is not prepared to handle it. As a consultant, the last thing I want to do is throw a strategy over the fence to an organization that is not prepared to implement it. That doesn’t sit well with me. Often, I am required to have tough conversations up front with leaders about their organization’s ability to navigate a strategy properly.  

If I go into an organization and see that the environment or leadership does not possess fertile ground for a strategy to be successful, I will suggest an executive leadership workshop. This workshop is about digital leadership foundation building. We help leaders define questions like: 

• Where do you want to be with technology?  
• What is it going to take to get there? 
• What are the investments you need to make? 

It is important to note that investments are not all about technology. They are about people too. You may have to move a team member from one place to another and then replace that team member’s workload with another team member.   

When Should you Begin Building a Strategy?  

It has been said that the best time to plant a tree was 30 years ago, and the second best time to plant a tree is now. Similarly, the best time to build a strategy was last year. However, today is a good day to start. Now is the time if you have not started.   

One thing to remember is that a strategy cannot just sit on a shelf. It should be sitting on the desk of leaders within the organization. When something comes up, those leaders should pull out the strategy and see if that thing aligns with the strategy.  

Finally, get creative when you are developing your strategy. Look across your organization to find the innovators, the game changing individuals who are around you. Pick these people out and provide them the opportunity to contribute to the strategy. If you just look to the same people, you are going to get recycled guideposts and destinations. You want to consider new destinations for your organization to navigate toward. Those people will provide fresh, and often surprising, perspectives. 

If you are interested in building a strategy, let us walk you through the process. We have worked with clients of all sizes and in a wide range of industries. If you want your organization to be market leading in areas specifically around areas of digital technology, let us partner with you to help you get there.