Dansk
All organizations can suffer from strategy nausea. The cure is not less strategy - but better strategy.
Oops - the calendar says October and the annual cycle says strategy work. Oh no, here we go again!
This is how employees, middle managers and board members can think as the next strategy period approaches. Another endless six months of pseudo-work, visions, core values and PowerPoints that don't lead to anything.
So why do they do it at all?
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Ironically, it's often because the board or executive management needs to demonstrate "drive". Or even more banal: Because the old strategy period has expired. And you need a strategy, right?!
Such "random" causes can quickly lead strategy work, action planning and execution astray - and cause chronic strategy nausea throughout the organization.
So it's only fair to ask: Couldn't we just not do it? What would happen if we just did our work instead of messing around with templates, plans and follow-up meetings?
You've probably guessed my answer: No, it's stupid not to. Because what we do, the way we do it and the goals we pursue don't just fall from the sky. It's always guided by someone or something.
If it's not the strategy that sets the direction, it might instead be the CEO's gut feeling, the middle manager's mood swings, the scheming colleague, the engineer's favorite project, the lawyer's capricious paragraphing or management's self-imposed bonus targets. It rarely results in more meaning, productivity or motivation in the long run.
The problem with strategy nausea or fatigue is not the strategy itself, but that many strategies are simply too poor.
A good strategy doesn't have to be overwhelming, but it provides a clear direction that everyone in the organization can understand and follow.
It weeds out the useless projects with real strategic opt-outs.
It opens the door to the outside world and our own inner "engine room", removing the blinders and creating the basis for real change.
It builds on what we know, rather than wavering on what we believe.
It's engaging and not formulated as lofty intentions, but concrete prioritized actions that can be communicated and followed up on. And it's easy to adjust when needed.
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The last point, in particular, is perhaps the best cure for the strategy nausea. Strategic change must be driven by a real need - not by the calendar or the vanity of management or others.
If recruitment needs suddenly disappear, it doesn't make sense to increase recruitment efforts for the rest of the strategy period. And if the components for the products are chronically backordered, a KPI about increased production is just words. They need to change.
The strategy fatigue isn't caused by too much strategy. It's brought on by too bad strategy. The cure is therefore better strategy. Remember that the next time strategy fatigue strikes.
This column was published in Jyllands-Posten business and FINANCE on October 24, 2023.
We can now all have full focus "on the ball" and everyone has become a "player" or partner in our strategy
Peter Hartvig
Owner and CEO. Managing Director
Hartvig Consult