An aha moment changes our view of the world in an instant, and compels us to do things differently from that day on. We hope you find today's Switching Tracks and aha moment.
6 Ways to Make Sure Your Strategy Kicks Butt Remarkable strategies enable businesses to surpass their competitors. They have 6 characteristics that make them able to kick a little competitor butt. For a more in-depth explanation and examples, click on the Examples link below, and take our test.
Remarkable strategies ... - Answer the question, "Different or Better?" Most businesses focus on better without really being different. Remarkable strategies move the business toward being different and better.
- Drive toward command of a niche or scale. For a strategy to create consistently higher profit, it must either drive toward command of a market niche, or to ever improving operational efficiency through scale. Those businesses that are caught in the middle - do not own a niche or do not have scale - are consistently the lowest on virtually every measure of profitability.
- Stretch the organization to challenge the status quo. Remarkable strategies challenge the way things are done today - whether it is the way customers buy or the operations of the business.
- Anticipate and engage the organization in the future. A strong strategy anticipates its own obsolescence. Anticipation is the new agility.
- Can be expressed in 2-3 short sentences so it's understood by everyone. Remarkable strategies capture and hold the imagination of everyone touched by it - owners, customers, employees and communities - in a simple way. If it's not simple, understandable and memorable, it will be forgotten - resulting in drift, disengagement and poor execution.
- Link directly to execution through a disciplined plan of action. Remarkable strategies are remarkably actionable. They have clear priorities, clear ownership of those priorities from the top to the bottom of the organization, define success as a result, not an activity, and drive accomplishment of goals by quarters, not years. This is built on a foundation of individual freedom to act within a strong framework of accountability for results.
Take our 10 second quiz and win a hardcover copy of Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Which of the six characteristics do you believe Apple is missing in its strategy?
For hints, watch the 30 and 45 second videos below. One is the original Apple MacBook Air commercial. The other is a parody, which points out some of the "differences" of the MacBook Air compared to more traditional laptops.
Click here to take the quiz, instantly get a more detailed view of the 6 characteristics and examples ... plus the answer to the quiz.
If the link does not work, copy this URL into your browser:
http://www.sogosurvey.com/k/SsRXVsVQsPsPsP
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MacBook Air Commercial (00:30)
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 | | MacBook Air Parody (00:48) |
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