How Saying ‘No’ Strengthens Your Strategy

Good strategic execution is about making smart choices and decisions

We’ve already talked about what a strategic plan is (and isn’t) in our discussion: “Strategic Planning Isn’t ‘Budget +10%.’” Hopefully, you’ve now got a direction mapped out and a list of initiatives to pursue, and you’re ready for a little tactical strategic advice. (Yes, that phrase is supposed to sound oxymoronic, but it’s actually deliberate and accurate.)

Repeat after me: “No.”

Try it again. This time with conviction: “No!”

Strategy is inherently about saying no. It’s about the choices we make and the choices we don’t. I’ve seen plenty of strategies completely derailed due to an inability to say no to that incremental initiative that’s kind of “on-strategy” but not really.

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Comments

Keeping priorities on track

Great advice that can get overlooked, because you don't want to crush your team's enthusiasm for making improvements. But without a realistic assessment of whether the initiatives fit into the plan and how they would get properly resourced, you're just asking for frustration, killed momentum and minimal progress.

The saying I heard from one of our execs the other day was "do we want to finish one whiskey bottle, or sip from 12?" Sometimes you want one or the other, but you need your team to understand which path you're heading down.