This is dangerous ground for a strategy consultant, and it may be a truism. But it is huge problem nonetheless.  It is that many firms compound strategic problems by spending too much on “strategy”.

Does this sound like an organization near you?  Ever more complicated (and supposedly robust) strategic planning activities are used to justify bad decisions or obsolete operating activities. Or, a series of “strategy interventions” take place to find a new pathway to success, only to end up confusing the organization with platitudes and cliches that do little or nothing to help book more sales.

I had the opportunity this week to listen to a panel of strategists that featured Kurt Roush, the Executive Director of the Fisher School of Business at Ohio State University. Roush once plied the trade of strategy consultant so he knows of where he speaks.

Roush made some interesting points that align with my experience of too much strategy. I’m paraphrasing his comments:

  • Leaders often fail to remember that strategies have to be executed by the front line organization.  If strategies are constantly changing or are too clever and complex, they don’t stand a chance of being implemented, let alone effective!

  • The best strategies are “organic”, in that they incorporate AND reflect the interests, viewpoints, and knowledge of the broader organization. They are not simply the conception of executives or -worse- designed only by consultants.

  • Organizations that spend little time understanding themselves -the history, culture, business model, and customer relationships that underlie the organization’s current success- will likely fail at any attempt to “strategic plan” their future state.

I would add that, even if your title is Director/VP of Strategic Planning, you need to view strategy as an episodic endeavor. Great strategies are simple, clear and enduring. They should change infrequently.

And when they do change, the decision is the easy part. Communication, enrollment, implementation and organization development are the hard parts!