Strategy was borne out of the military, where armies would develop a plan to guarantee their prosperity and defeat the enemy.
What is our strategy? We perform tasks daily, but for what purpose? Have we declared what the goal is for all our efforts? Our strategy is a clear statement of our intent, a commitment to ourselves and others regarding what we want to achieve and why. Our strategy clarifies our reason for showing up each day.
While we may not be looking to defeat a recognizable enemy, we deal with one daily: Ourselves and our uncanny ability to derail the best of intentions. Declaring our strategy compels us to stay on course and reveals where we are going. It does not require us to have all the tactics and steps laid out.
It may merit asking ourselves a few questions that will inform our strategy.
- What do I hope to achieve by doing what I am doing, and for what long-term purpose?
- How do I plan to do this, and what will I need to attain the goals?
- How will I know I was successful and is it measurable in some way?
A strategy is not a detailed plan, and it does not have all the answers; it does not lay out all the steps you will need to take and who will be involved. These are our tactics. However, while tactics may change, the strategy remains directionally focused—the more focused, the better.
A well-thought-out strategy will provide you with direction and inform you of what not to do. It makes it clear to others what you are doing, and it allows them to see if there is alignment in purpose, which will inform you whether working with someone who has knowledge and expertise in an area may support you.
Time is a finite resource. We should be economical with it, and the time we spend thinking about why we are doing what we do daily will not be wasted time.
