Strategy Requires Discipline and Forced Choices - No Way Around It

Many of my clients want to do it all - and this year or this quarter. Wouldn't we all like to have it all?Think about what are the tasks that will REALLY get you to where you want to go? Many of us deal with noise all day. We have busy activity but what are we REALLY accomplishing?Yes, there are things we need to do to keep the lights on, keep cash flow, etc... those are what I call maintenance or tickets to entry when conducting business.

The strategic leader is one who not only identifies what needs to be done and why but is willing to make the tough decisions around what they are going to either stop, start or continue in service of the big picture. This last piece of the exercise too often doesn't happen for a variety of reasons - people are afraid their budgets will be permanently cut; they don't want to upset anyone; they don't want to give up that favorite project; their organizations are not that flexible to be able to change gears quickly.T

here is no way around it: if you are really working strategically, you HAVE to take a step back periodically and ask the tough question: WHY are we doing this - in service of WHAT? Is this directly related to our overarching STRATEGY or GOAL?IF NOT, you must stop it. Now. No way around it. If you want to stay focused and achieve your goal. How often do you step back and ask why?