what is strategy?

"Strategy is a framework to guide critical choices to achieve a desired future,” said MIT Sloan senior lecturer Donald Sull in a new MIT Sloan Management Review webinar....

[A] strategic vision must be detailed enough to lay out a clear vision while being broad enough to allow for flexibility and adjustment....

An ideal strategy provides enough guidance to empower workers to make trade-offs, formulate goals, allocate resources, prioritize activities, and clarify what people are committing to do. At the same time, it offers enough flexibility to allow people to seize opportunities and adapt as needed....

Take American Airlines versus Southwest Airlines. American has goals like “be an industry leader” and “look to the future.” Inspiring but vague. Southwest, on the other hand, has initiatives like “fleet modernization” and “growth of Rapid Rewards program.” Precise and defined.

Kara Baskin

"How to turn a strategic vision into reality," Ideas Made to Matter: MIT. Mar 28, 2018

eyes on, hands off

There is clearly risk associated with empowering your team to make more and faster decisions at a lower-level than was previously the norm. As you take your hands off the wheel, you need to be more vigilant and aware than ever about the decisions your team is making. Provide your team with guidance on the decisions that you want to maintain, and then expect them to handle the rest by leveraging their increased connectivity internal and external to their team. Encourage an environment of transparency where the expectation is for people to be self-aware of when they need help, and are comfortable asking for it. Use every challenge your team faces as an opportunity for organizational learning, and you will quickly build trust in this new way of working.

Chris Fussell

"Eyes On, Hands Off: How to empower your team and get out of their way" Medium. March 15, 2017.

step away

Today, most assume that Xbox was somehow destined to be a winner, but having been Microsoft’s chief Xbox officer, I am here to report that its early years were much more like a ship on the rocks than a sloop cutting through the waves.... As I reflect on surviving the near-death Xbox experience, which we turned around using a strategy process called the 3P Framework to create Xbox 360... I would humbly suggest the following:

Step away. Almost every leader’s first instinct is to dive into the engine room to fix problems he or she sees. At the depths of the Xbox process, I found myself up late at night doing manual DVD testing to identify flaws in the Xbox DVD drive. Although that level of engagement theoretically shows that you are part of the solution, it is almost always a mistake. Instead, take the time to step away from the keyboard and elevate your attention to the broader issues. How and why did we get here? What are the root causes of our dysfunction? How can I use strategy, team design, delegation, and other macro tools to guide us in a better direction? If you dive in, you encourage the team to cede responsibility to you. If you step back and provide guidance, you empower them to take ownership.

Robbie Bach

"The Big Leadership Lessons I Learned Almost Failing To Create Xbox For Microsoft" Forbes. 11/5/2015