“Do you believe in destiny? That even the powers of time can be altered for a single purpose?”
— Bram Stoker’s Dracula

Dear all,

it’s been a while (again). Not because we are getting lazy. On the contrary. New clients with old challenges (implementing OKRs sensibly) and old clients with new challenges (developing department strategies) are keeping us rather busy.

One of the things we invariably find in these engagements is that “…strategy is a word that everyone has respect for. Wherever it appears, it triggers humility.“ German advertisers Jung von Matt are spot-on with this observation. The word triggers awe. Instead of stepping back, understanding, and making choices, many of the organizations we encounter therefore choose to toil on, try and improve execution – and hope for the best.

Strategy does not have to be scary at all. Strategy development takes only three steps. Applying the right tools with a bit of structure, most management teams are able to develop or update a strategy in a matter of days.

But Halloween is horror enough for now. This weekend’s strategy reads are not meant to scare you, but rather should inspire you to develop and execute yours:

Effective Innovation Begins With Strategic Direction

Tom Hunsaker and Jonathan Knowles offer three actionable types of strategies that can be applied beyond the immediate context of innovation.

Click to view!

A four-layer model of product focus

Raj Nagappan outlines how to connect a product vision to day- to-day work; making product strategy and its development tangible in the process.

Click to view!

For organizations without a strategy, however, I can only repeat Cronenberg’s Robin „The Fly“: „Be afraid, be very afraid!“

Don’t get tricked or treated too badly this weekend!

All the best,
Godehard