GarthBox

Strategy always involves risk because we don’t know for sure how our choices will turn out.

A strategic plan, by definition, is one that’s different from a competitors or one that’s entirely new to an industry. Within that plan there are layers of uncertainty.

But strategy is ultimately necessary (when decided on by the right people in the right seats); it’s what keeps you differentiated, aligned on your core values, and provides the blue print for profits.

Yet, when problems arise, profits tumble, shareholders question your leadership, many think they’re failing on execution, not strategy. They think “If I run a little faster than I’ll exceed more.”

But the truth is that running faster doesn’t help if you’re going in the wrong direction. All things considered (leadership, capabilities, financials, etc,.) any sign of failure can be tracked back to strategy.

The big question is if it’s the wrong strategy all-together or if it’s a piece that can be adjusted and still make the model work.

Or, you know, you can keep shrugging it off to be the wrong execution or not enough of it.

 

Stay Positive & Ready To Do The Emotional Labor Of Finding Out?

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It’s never dramatically. It’s never in one foul swoop. It’s never overnight.

It’s one misguided decision after the other. It’s small cut by small cut. It happens when you’re distracted, putting out fires, and in meetings.

 

Stay Positive & Success Comes From Doing The Small Things Right

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My piece of advice for businesses is to not build it like it’s a book.

There’s no setting and forgetting. There’s no permission to misspell something on a menu because it’s the first edition. There’s no shelf to put your business on and wait for someone to pick it up.

Most importantly, anyone who has ever read a good book knows that you can’t read it again as if it was for the first time, but with your business you can.

And that’s the opportunity every business owner must uphold: making even the 100th time a customer buys your product or uses your service feel like it’s the first time.

 

Stay Positive & How Can You Tell Your Story Better Next Time?

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Through years of researching clients, industries, stories, brands, cultures and on, I’ve learned one necessary tactic to ensuring quality results and key takeaways: talk to people.

Numbers and facts don’t move people, but numbers and facts backed by the emotion of someone who feels them–that’s when you have a story.

Nothing will get you as far and get you there as fast as giving someone a call.

Talking. Person to person.

 

Stay Positive & The Only Thing You Really Need To Google Is Contact Info

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Most marketing can be categorized in one of two spaces.

It’s either hero marketing or it’s not.

It either puts the target, the consumer, the user in the spotlight or it puts the product or service.

It either shares the story of the target or it tells a story a brand wants consumers to hear.

The job of any marketer is to make the target feel like a hero. Because they are.

 

Stay Positive & I Ask Again, Who Is The Hero?

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Every project needs a manager to ensure the activity meets deadline and is remarkable.

But the duty of a project management is so much more than being handed something to see to the finish line; it’s as important to provoke the next project, the next money-making initiative, the next item to be added to the pipeline.

 

Stay Positive & It’s About The Consistent Flow Of Projects More Than The Completion Of Them

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Technology used to make things more expensive. Every add-on and feature would make the product cost more.

Now, despite some of the hefty price tags we still see, technology is about making things less expensive.

You’re able to buy a more powerful laptop for less. Theaters are able to invest in electric theater seating because they can afford it. The app on your phone to close your garage door is free.

It’s worth asking then, when technology comes at a low cost, what is the consumer left to tell themselves about it?

 

Stay Positive & Seems Some Storytelling Is In Order

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