Strategy or Wisdom?
That’s not really a fair question. In business, both wisdom and strategy are necessary and should work in tandem, wisdom leading to strategy, the implementation of which develops further wisdom. Sadly, strategy often takes the front seat in business decision-making; and almost as often, it kicks wisdom right out of the car.
As I’ve previously written, the quick fix—the promise of a plug-and-play strategy that will yield automated results—is alluring. Buy the book or click the link and you are well on your way. “All you have to do is follow the system and you’ll increase your business by XX% in the next 6 months!” Or some variation on that theme. You’ve seen the options. You’ve wanted one at times. Maybe you’ve tried one (and if one, likely several). They’re not hard to come by…but they rarely ever work, at least not for long.
The problem is that there are always consequences—results of the shortcut—that adversely affect the long term goals you’ve set.
Like the diet pill, for example.
They absolutely ruled the market for a time with all their promises of weight loss requiring no work outs or changes to your diet. They met with some level of success for a while, and a lot of people made a lot of money off the idea. But people began to realize that the real problem wasn’t necessarily the extra weight they were carrying around, it was the unhealthy decisions they were making that led to the weight gain.
A pill doesn’t correct that, but actually encourages it. And it enables more unhealthy decisions that leave people in worse shape in the long run than they were before deciding to engage the quick fix, because it cut out the wisdom, processes, and habits that come from learning and working hard.
The diet pill is a strategy without any grounding in reality, with no concern for context, and promising things it cannot deliver. It’s simply not a wise way to cultivate long term health.
Wisdom Says, “No Thanks”
People have recognized how unhealthy those fad diets can be and pushed back against them. But no one seems to be looking at business strategies with the same scrutiny. Anyone can produce a strategy, show (or predict) any amount of growth, and toss it out into the business ether with no real consequence. Good marketing works, and people bite hard—even very smart people with a lot to lose.
Those strategists will make promises of growth, charge your credit card, send you a template, and happily move on to the next guy looking for direction. Or they’ll schedule a few video conference calls that are guaranteed to transform your business and your life. You may see some level of success for a time, but what happens when the market shifts and that strategy no longer makes sense?
Having missed out on the valuable process of thinking through the variables that make a strategy work, how then do you factor in the changes taking place in order to address them in your approach? You may have enjoyed a bit of preliminary growth, but ultimately, you find yourself in an even unhealthier place—with a larger business and no real direction for handling the growth or developing the next steps in the process.
Wisdom says, “no, thank you” to the quick fix, because the wise leader understands the value of cultivating their strategy. Though the process is more laborious and time-consuming, it leads to healthy decision-making and supports growth even in shifting markets and cultural upheaval. It produces healthier leaders who have the wherewithal to see the signs of coming change and address them incrementally, sooner rather than later, and not fall into crisis mode every time the strategy needs a minor tweak.
Strategy is a necessary part of any business plan, but the process of development is just as important as the outcome itself. Don’t miss the opportunity to grow as a leader and prepare yourself for the future by walking through that process and reaping the wisdom it provides.
***If you’re ready to prioritize wisdom and set yourself and your business up for long-term success, Changegoat partners with investors, founders, and executives in the moments where leadership matters most. We don’t have a strategy for sale; we’ll help you ask better questions to unlock both personal growth and organizational performance.***
