If my daughter’s high school crew team (feel free to review our 2022 post - The Power of Alignment) was to have a prayer of winning their regatta, they needed to work together as one with every stroke. Each member had to know where the finish line was, the route to victory, and their role. If their thinking or doing was fuzzy, that meant falling behind. The same dynamic is true for companies moving to 'next level' growth.
Even with a great vision (check out our Step 1 blog if you don’t have one), it’s hard to bridge the gap between your “now” and your future if you’re constantly putting out fires, chasing checkboxes, or just managing organized chaos. Our Shepherd GAMEPlan Step 2 —the “Strategize” step— bridges this gap.
Use Strategy to Bring Clarity to 5 Common Chaotic Problems
We’ve seen time and again the problems companies face when growing to the next level. Fortunately, solid strategizing can resolve many such problems. Here are five common “chaotic” problems we’ve identified from years of working with companies—and Shepherd’s strategizing solutions.
Problem 1: My team is distracted by too many opportunities. What’s most important for my team to focus on?
Sometimes called “shiny object syndrome,” your team may be chasing too many opportunities, following whatever seems best ‘at the moment’. They get distracted and thrown off course at the first bump, or the next “opportunity de jour”—even after investing considerable effort and resources! This dynamic doesn’t accomplish growth; it leaves your team feeling frustrated and resentful.
Solution: Prioritize your top growth pathways.
Stop chasing “shiny objects,” and start focusing. Take a step back and:
Consider a comprehensive and diverse set of growth opportunities
Clarify the most important criteria to support growth
Analyze each opportunity
Shortlist and prioritize the best growth pathways forward
In our experience, its best to engage the whole leadership team in this from- opportunities-to-pathways process, so all opportunities and impacts receive due consideration. Teams who feel heard will then rally around shortlisted pathways and become laser-focused on what they will—and won’t—do to achieve their desired future.
Problem 2: How do we get this done? We’re constantly wrestling over where to allocate our time and resources.
We regularly see teams in growth mode struggling over resources. Teams who can't agree on how to grow won't agree on resource allocations either. What’s really necessary for new strategic pathways to succeed? How do you best invest while keeping the lights on? What about our existing customers? In our experience, these constant back-and-forth fosters nothing but stagnation.
Solution: Figure out how the team will execute and deliver each shortlisted pathway.
Targeting the most worthwhile pathways clarifies what will get leadership’s focus. But just determining these pathways isn’t sufficient. Too often strategic planning stops here! No wonder so many strategy exercises disappoint—they don’t take the next critical step: to work out exactly how the team will actually execute and deliver.
That’s why we urge teams to be rigorous and go deep. For each prioritized pathway, determine its:
Specific goals and KPIs
Critical success factors, necessary steps, and essential investment
Key risks and uncertainties
Once the team understands what’s needed to organize and deliver, it’s easier to then sequence the next pathways and allocate resources in proper order. Through this process, teams get clarity and alignment on the time, steps, and resources needed to accomplish the growth strategy.
Problem 3: How do we actually decide what’s best for the business?
Without an effective strategic framework to evaluate options, your team is likely to be uncertain about what's actually best for the business. Many teams mostly trust their gut. But they are also aware that their biases cloud their thinking and that relying only on what they think they know can leave value on the table and create additional risks. Such uncertainty slows companies down, erodes discipline, and makes growth harder.
Solution: Apply a strategic decision-making framework.
Create a step-by-step strategic framework that enables your team to:
Gather new market information and current customer insights
Objectively consider and evaluate different options and prioritize specific growth pathways
For each pathway, build specific goals, execution plans, timelines, and budgets
Sequence your growth pathways to start strong and build momentum
Address barriers, constraints, and uncertainties
Commit as a team to implement the emerging strategy
Along the way, you and the team will strengthen your strategic muscle as you improve how you focus on what’s important, what you want to keep, and what you need to drop.
As Shepherd Advisors helps companies strategize, we (1) ensure that the team has a comprehensive understanding of different pathways and (2) construct a strategic framework that enables your team to prioritize the right options.
Problem 4: My team’s commitment feels tentative. How do we build confidence in the plan?
Growth can be uncomfortable. Doubts creep in. Your team is very aware of why the plan might fail! And we’ve seen strategies falter because teams don’t voice and address their assumptions, their concerns, and their doubts.
Solution: “De-risk” by validating (or not) key assumptions.
There are always risks. Ironically, team confidence will grow as a plan’s risks are identified and addressed. Validating key market, operational, and financial assumptions will lead to greater confidence and commitment, not less, and will improve the plan! We call this “pressure testing,” and we like to run these two pressure tests with our clients:
“Do the math.” Develop a financial model that specifically demonstrates how revenue and EBITDA build. Ask your CFO to identify expected financial impacts of capital and expense commitments, so you can decide with your team and board based on grounded financial projections.
"Do the markets." Seek out marketplace inputs to validate (or not) key market assumptions. Build clarity confidence with market research; and confidence as you talk to customers and relevant experts. Anchor the plan in market realities rather than personal beliefs.
Problem 5: What does each person do to make this plan a success? No one seems sure about their role or their accountability.
Your team knows their jobs today, but what are their roles in bringing this new strategy alive? What are they accountable for? Execution success depends on every team member knowing what’s expected of them and trusting they’ll have needed resources. Rather than putting feet to the fire, how do you help the team lean in, execute, and hold themselves accountable?
Solution: Create clear and concise execution action plans to get everyone on track and keep them accountable.
Here’s an exercise we use. Have team members draft a single-page action plan of what their success looks like, articulating:
Their goals and KPIs
Steps are needed to build success
With whom, by when, and with what budget
As your team members develop the plan, identify the resources they’ll need, and set the bar for success, they’re better able to commit to making it happen.
Sharpen your focus the Shepherd Way
Strategies fail all the time because they’re vague, under-resourced, not specific enough about execution, or unclear about who’s actually responsible for what. The Shepherd GAMEPlan methodically replaces the chaotic with clarity at all levels of strategy building.
If you and your team are experiencing any of these five common problems as you grow, we may be able to help. Check out more about us on our website or reach out to learn more about how our GAMEPlan methodology moves teams to clarity.
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