Are You a Strategic Leader?
Source: Partner Insights
Highlights from an article by Rich Horwath, president of the Strategic Thinking Institute (847-756-4707).
The most important ability of a leader is to develop strategy. But most leaders have not been trained in it.Here are three concepts on strategy:
- Underperforming firms usually don’t differentiate themselves from their competitors. You can’t always be the best, but you can be different. Example: Johnny Cash didn’t have the best voice, and the Mini-Cooper isn’t the best performing automobile, but they were both successful because they were different in ways that people valued.
- Don’t try to be all things to all people. Use your resources where they can provide the most value. This means making trade-offs. In strategic thinking, what you choose not to do is as important as what you choose to do. This also involves risk, but if you are not willing to take risks, you are not strategic. Ask the following questions:
- What have we decided not to provide to our clients?
- Which clients or potential clients have we decided not to serve?
- Try to develop systems for executing your strategies that your competitors will find difficult to emulate.
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From Partner Insights, Aquila Global Advisors, LLC, June 3, 2008, www.aquilaadvisors.com.
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