Some companies define their strategy as a focus on an outcome, such as “double our revenue in the next 5 years”.
This can be utterly frustrating. Because usually you cannot control it. It’s not something anyone inside the company can do.
When the CEO promotes a vision like this as the company’s focus for the next five years, what does it mean for the team? How do they put it into action? It will often leave large parts of the workforce frustrated.
Ultimately, it’s what I like to call a “lazy strategy” which leaves the hard decisions fuzzy and vague. It’s unclear how to act on it and what to do to make it happen. (Plus: it carries no meaning for most employees.)
A more helpful focus is one that informs actions and empowers decision making within the team. It requires courage and commitment. But that’s what leads to action.
