The Hard Truth about Choices

Strategy is about choices. It’s choosing where you want to compete and how you want to win. It’s finding the intersection of what the marketplace needs, what you are good at doing, and how you can profit from it.

All Things to All People

Making these choices sounds easy but it can be challenging to get it right in practice. 

Many leaders fall prey to the “keep all my options on the table” trap. They ask questions like, “What if a big customer comes along and wants X?”

They think that if they keep their options open, somehow, some big customer is going to come along and make everything better. 

Trying to be all things to all people is officially the worst strategy of all time.

You Must Choose

Here’s the secret to being strategic: You must choose. 

Take a look at your organization's strategy and ask yourself, “What choices are we making?” 

Even better, ask, “What are we not doing, or who are we not serving?” 

If a painful decision isn’t evident, or you're not saying no to some group of potential customers, then you don’t have a strategy that can beat the odds. (Want a strategy that can stand the test of time? Use our free infographic to make sure your strategy is truly strategic!)

What choices are we making? 

You’re Choosing to Lose

Not making a choice is a choice to rely on the trends of your market to achieve success. It’s counting on your customers not to be discerning, and your competition not to show up. It’s possible, but not probable. 

Being strategic is making choices that differentiate you from the competition. 

If you don't make deliberate choices, then you're choosing to lose.

Want to be more strategic?

Just imagine the impact you would have if you could make the hard, deliberate choices to be more strategic.

That is why I built See the Big Picture: Nine Steps to Being Strategic. It is a 15-page guide full of tips to help you become a more strategic leader. Get your free copy here.