A new strategy doesn't always have a happy ending

A look at why implementing a new strategy can feel daunting and overwhelming.

Post Summary

• This post will help you tackle the messy world between the formulation of a strategy and the exciting results we all want.  In between, we have a chasm of emotion and challenges.

• My contention is that these challenges arise not from the actual workload of a new strategy but from the plethora of emotional decisions that have to be made along the way.

• Leadership teams may have to let go of individuals, discard initiatives that aren’t working (but received plenty of investment) or take a bold leap into something new.

• The prerequisite for tackling these emotional decisions is a high level of honesty.

• You’ll learn a three step process for how to effectively tackle these emotional decisions (spoiler alert: there are no secrets)

Housekeeping

• This post, like all Tuesday posts, is free for all subscribers. Always has been always will be.

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• Check out the first episode of Stratagems, my new podcast that deconstructs real-world strategies into actionable insights. I’m already working on episode two.

• Be sure to check out the footnotes for further ideas and background information.

I. A new strategy doesn’t always have a happy ending

I love watching inspirational movies where someone overcomes seemingly insurmountable challenges. The guy gets the girl or the job or the family or something else. Think Slumdog Millionaire, The Pursuit of Happyness or Good Will Hunting¹.

Unfortunately, strategies don’t always achieve their happy ending. 

Formulating a strategy always creates feelings of excitement and hope, especially for people who like to plan (I’m one of those people).

Having a plan can provide certainty in an uncertain world and confidence in a fearful one. If you were to stop the movie at the formulation stage, then it might seem like everything always works out. The team comes together, cheers and then the movie cuts to the credits.

If the movie keeps rolling though, then you would see the messiness of trying to convert a strategic plan into something real.

I talked recently to an organization who left the formulation session excited and hopeful, only to feel daunted at all that is required during the implementation. I reassured them that this is normal and part of the process.

Let’s look at why implementation can feel daunting and what we can do to combat these challenges.

II. The daunting reality of implementation

I’m always curious why teams find the implementation of a strategy overwhelming. 

Sometimes a team needs to put in extra hours to get things moving, on top of their regular workload. For teams already stretched on time, this is a challenge of time and that can be surmounted by discarding any initiatives that are no longer aligned with the new strategy.

We could also talk about buy-in (do people believe in this), pushback (do people resist change) or a variety of other factors. I think it boils down to having to face difficult and emotional decisions.

For example, a new strategy may highlight the personnel changes that need to occur within a team. When Chip Bergh took over as Levi's CEO in 2011, he had 11 direct reports. Within 18 months, nine of them were gone and new individuals came onboard². Letting go of people is hard but sometimes needed in a new strategy.

Teams also have to confront all the initiatives and ideas that aren’t working. In psychology, there’s a term called the sunken cost fallacy³ where we may be reluctant to abandon something because we have invested heavily in it. To an outsider, it may seem obvious that something isn’t working but things aren’t always so clear from the inside.

Finally, teams may have to take a leap of faith into something new. Facebook did this by renaming themselves into Meta⁴, betting that virtual reality will one day be big. I’m not sure if this will occur but you can’t say that Mark Zuckerberg isn’t bold.

Let’s look at a few ideas on how you could tackle these difficult or emotional decisions.

III. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line

I wish there were hidden secrets or hacks for how to tackle these difficult decisions. Instead, there’s only one way to deal with them. Head on.

I’m always reminding the organizations I partner with, about the need for a high level of honesty among the individuals who are leading a strategy. A leader may not be 100% with all of their staff members but there should be few secrets among the leadership team. 

Assuming you have a high level of honesty, here are three steps to confront these difficult but important decisions.

First, make a list of all the decisions where you’re unsure or you may be avoiding. I listed three examples in the previous section and I’m sure you can come up with a few other ones. 

Second, schedule a time to have the necessary conversations. Put it in your calendar or add it to the agenda of an upcoming meeting. If it’s not on the calendar, it is more likely to fall through the cracks.

Third, celebrate when you make one of these decisions. I’m not saying you should celebrate the firing of an employee but you should celebrate the courage it took to have that conversation. 

Most strategies are simple. Teams can see what needs to be done and how, with some effort and luck, it can lead to a successful outcome. The challenges are the tricky decisions along the way. If you can get good at identifying these decisions and tackling them head on, you will increase your chances of success.

-Ruben

1. In case you’re looking to watch a few of these movies over the next few weeks, Rotten Tomatoes has a list worth checking out.

2. Chip’s post on HBR is a fantastic look at the messy period we are talking about today. He outlines many of the difficult decisions he had to made as new CEO.

3. The sunken cost fallacy is one of the most emotional biases out there and it is difficult to look past it when you’re the one in the hole.

4. I’m still used to saying Facebook but Meta is committed to the metaverse or some form of virtual reality. I respect companies who make these bold bets, especially large companies like Meta.