As I work with organizations on strategic planning I continue to see some common roadblocks that challenge their ability to put their plans into action. There's nothing entirely shocking about these roadblocks - in fact, when conducting research for my book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Strategic Planning, I talked with numerous people who brought up the same issues. Yet, despite our general awareness of what we need to do, and what we shouldn't do, when it comes to strategic planning, we seem to often make the same mistakes over and over again.

You've probably heard Einstein's definition of insanity: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." Visit our blog to find out about 5 things you can do to avoid the risk of insanity in your strategic planning efforts.  

Two of my favorite books are Freakonomics and Predictably Irrational because they both challenge conventional thinking and support logic in the face of commonly held beliefs.

One of the commonly held beliefs in marketing circles is that market share should always be a key metric to determine business success. I challenge that commonly held belief--sometimes it matters, but not always. Here's a simple example to illustrate:

Suppose I open a small restaurant in my local community of 20,000. I estimate that of those 20,000, about 3000 represent my "target group" or market. After two years in business, I find that I have served about 10 percent of that target market. Is 10 percent significant market share? No. Do I care? It depends. It depends on:

1) Whether I have the capacity to serve additional share. I may not. In fact, I may be at the limit of my capacity and not willing to invest more in building additional capacity. So, 10 percent market share may be just fine.

2) Whether there are other metrics that may be equally - or potentially more - important to me. Metrics like: retention, loyalty, repeat business, etc. If I can capture 100 percent "share of wallet" from 50 percent of my 300 loyal patrons (meaning they are not going anyplace else to eat), for instance, I might be doing just fine.

3) And, related to #2, whether I legitimately feel that my product/service is a "total replacement" for others or simply an alternative. In this example, for instance, I know that diners are likely to choose other options from time to time. That's okay. As long as I'm meeting my goals - whatever they are - market share may simply not matter.

In short, market share may not matter.

The point is that too often businesses - even very large businesses - chase after a metric that they've heard about or that other businesses follow, but that may not be appropriate for them. 

Make sure that the measures you're using to gauge your business success are valid, for you. Don't waste time and resources chasing after measures that may not matter. In short, challenge conventional wisdom!