A Company's Strategy Is Most Accurately Defined As
Let's talk about company strategy. You know, that thing everyone whispers about in boardrooms and writes in long, fancy documents. The thing that’s supposed to guide every decision, from buying new staplers to launching a rocket ship to Mars.
But if you’re like me, you’ve probably sat in enough meetings where "strategy" was tossed around like a hot potato. Someone says, "Our strategy is to be the best!" And everyone nods, as if that’s a groundbreaking revelation. Like, "Wow, who knew! Being the best is the goal!"
Here’s my little, possibly unpopular, theory. A company's strategy isn't really defined by the eloquent paragraphs in the Annual Report or the laser-focused PowerPoint slides presented by the Chief Strategy Officer (bless their hearts). Oh no.
I believe a company's strategy is most accurately defined by the decisions made when no one important is looking. Yes, the little things. The everyday choices. The ones that happen at the coffee machine, in the hallway whispers, or during a frantic Friday afternoon panic.
Think about it. The CEO might announce, "Our grand strategy is to disrupt the entire widget industry with unparalleled innovation!" Very inspiring. Very… distant.
Meanwhile, down in the trenches, the purchasing manager is facing a dilemma. Do they buy the slightly cheaper, slightly less reliable widgets from Supplier X, or the slightly more expensive, very reliable widgets from Supplier Y? If they choose Supplier X to save a few bucks today, what does that say about the "unparalleled innovation" strategy? It’s probably not about building the most revolutionary widget if the core components are already cutting corners.
Or consider the marketing team. The official strategy might be to target "young, tech-savvy urban professionals." But then a junior marketer suggests, "Hey, what if we run a Facebook ad campaign targeting grandmas who knit? We could call it 'Grandma's Smart Scarf!' It’ll go viral!" If the company actually approves and funds the Grandma Scarf campaign, well, that’s the real strategy in action. Less about disruptive innovation, more about the unexpected viral hit.
The true strategy often emerges not from a visionary’s whiteboard, but from the collective, often messy, reality of getting things done.
It’s like when your parents told you to eat your vegetables for your health. That was the intended strategy. But your actual strategy was to hide the broccoli under the mashed potatoes. The outcome was the same: you didn't eat the broccoli. Your personal strategy was revealed by your actions, not the parental decree.
Let's look at another classic example. A company declares its strategy is to be customer-centric. They’ll invest in amazing customer service, offer personalized experiences, the whole nine yards. That’s the shiny brochure version. But then, a customer calls with a minor issue. The phone rings for ten minutes, they get bounced between three departments, and finally, someone sighs and says, "Look, we can't really help you with that."
In that moment, the customer-centric strategy evaporates. The real strategy revealed is "Minimize customer service costs at all apparent (but not actual) customer satisfaction." It’s not malicious. It’s often just the path of least resistance, the easiest way to tick a box or meet a very specific, narrow metric.
Then there's the legendary "agile methodology" strategy. Everyone’s supposed to be flexible, adaptable, able to pivot on a dime. But when the deadlines loom and the pressure is on, what happens? Suddenly, the only "agile" thing happening is the desperate scramble to just finish the damn thing before the weekend. The strategy becomes "Deliver by Friday, no matter what." Flexibility? That’s for next quarter.
It's the same with "synergy". Oh, the mystical word! Companies merge, and the strategy is all about "leveraging synergies." But in reality, synergy often means the IT departments of two companies spend six months arguing about whose server infrastructure is superior, while the actual business opportunities lie dormant. The strategy becomes "Defend our existing tech turf."
So, while the consultants craft elaborate blueprints and the executives paint grand visions, the true essence of a company's strategy is often found in the humblest of places. It’s in the slightly-too-expensive coffee machine that was installed because someone important liked it. It’s in the mandatory, mind-numbing team-building exercise that happens every year, despite everyone secretly hating it. It’s in the policy that requires three signatures for a box of pens.
These aren't necessarily bad things. They are simply indicators. They are the breadcrumbs that lead you to the actual, lived strategy. The strategy that is being executed, day in and day out, by real people dealing with real constraints and making real choices.
So next time you hear about a company’s amazing, world-changing strategy, just pause for a moment. And then, if you can, peek behind the curtain. Look at the small stuff. Because that's where the real strategy lives. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s almost always the most honest.