If you asked various people for their definition of strategy, it’s highly likely that you’d get a range of responses. However, I’m relatively certain that these answers would all conceptually be the same: understanding where you currently are (point A), where you want to be (point B), and what steps you’re going to take to get there. Even asking the question 10 or more years ago, you’d still get the same results.
But today, the way we approach strategy is very different to the methods we used to follow. Why? Because the world we live in is very different compared to earlier years. The past six years especially have seen some radical world changes, with covid lockdowns and other world events that have impacted both national and international economies. Yet, despite all the data we have available to us, these events can’t always be predicted.
There has been an undeniable shift, not only in how we understand what comprises strategy, but also how we implement it. Hold that thought, I’ll explore that in more detail in just a few moments.
Before I dive into how strategy used to look, I first want to highlight some of the key differences – thinking back as early as the turn of the millennium – that provide some valuable context to the changes we’re experiencing in strategy today.
Let’s begin with an easy one: technological advancements. While computers have been around and in use for a fair amount of time now, it’s only really been since the late 90s and early 2000s that we’ve seen major adoption of computers and associated technology. This meant that organizations all had to change their ways of working and factor this into strategy plans – especially back in 2020 when the majority of the world had to rapidly adapt to remote working.
Without tech and tooling to bear a lot of the administrative burden – and facilitate quicker and easier communication – creating a strategy back then was not a simple task.
The introduction of, and access to, the internet has completely changed strategy. Companies previously had to rely on traditional research methods such as libraries or their in-person networks to adequately research their strategies. Now? All the information that anybody could possibly ever need to know is available at the press of a few buttons. Even then, the internet was not as large and noisy as it is now, so the level of research that went into a strategy would have looked quite different to the intricate strategy documents we’re more familiar with nowadays.
This is more of a feeling than based on empirical data… But I strongly believe that we all now approach strategy and other problems with more nuance than in previous years. Back in the early 00s, there was more of a tendency to take something at face value (following the ‘because I said so’ mantra) rather than investigate the reasons behind it. In my experience, we now see more people challenging ideas based on their own research and expertise, with this also reflected in strategy.
As I briefly touched on, despite all the changes we’ve seen in the past 20 years or so, the fundamental concept of strategy remains the same. Strategy is still focusing on what you’re doing, where you’re doing it, and how you’re going to succeed in this arena. There’s still a level of gambling involved as you’re making informed decisions based on the data you have available to you. You’re repeatedly taking educated risks as to what will work for you, and accepting that some of your initial wants may not materialize in the way you originally envisioned.
It’s fair to say that the “obvious” differences between then and now have contributed to the way we understand strategy. However there have been more subtle adjustments that have crept in over time, shaping how we build and execute organizational strategy. Generally, these adjustments center around the themes of predicting the unpredictable, and moving a strategy from static to dynamic.
Thanks to ever-changing political and economic conditions (which therefore have an impact on markets), we’re seeing a change in the duration of organizational strategy. It’s no longer feasible to come up with a multi-year strategy as, as we’ve all experienced, external factors can impact your plans sooner than you realize. To combat this, organizations are now reviewing strategic plans quarterly, with an additional 34% conducting these reviews monthly.
In many industries, what used to be a five year plan is now looking more like a 12-month plan. The good news with focusing on shorter-term ideas means you have an advantage that is very useful in strategy: adaptability.
While Agile has been around since the 90s, it’s only since it became adopted in the 2010s (beyond its IT roots) that we’ve seen Agile influence strategy; the idea that continuously adapting to circumstances is more efficient and leads to better outcomes compared to fixed thinking.
Instead of only working from the initial research that forms the foundation of your strategy, organizations now are continuously looking for more data that can better inform strategic performance and outcomes. This also covers consulting employees with varying expertise and experience to ensure collected data is representative of the current landscape.
Quickly noticing changing external and market conditions, cross-referencing this with your existing data, and making an updated plan offers organizations better competitive advantage than simply continuing as normal. A great tool for researching and understanding your current position is the OODA loop, which can give you a little more control in predicting the impact of external changes.
Unpredictable conditions means you have to become resilient. To be resilient, you must be regularly thinking about alternative routes to success, or how to factor contingency into your plans. Resilience in strategy is about doing things ‘just in case’ rather than being solely focused on meeting strict deadlines. In manufacturing supply chains, as an example, there has been a big push to make these as lean as possible – presumably to drive efficiency and profitability. But, now there is a larger focus on resilience and baking redundancy into supply chains so if there’s an event, the organization is able to recover sooner.
This resilience mindset means you’re more likely to experiment with ideas to find out what works and optimize your processes as you progress through the strategy. By spending more time pursuing multiple ideas, you increase your strategic resilience, flexibility, and adaptability should anything try to take you off course.
So, how has strategy evolved? Perhaps not in its definition, but more the mindset. We’re more accepting that plans on paper might not always always transpose to reality. We’re more cognizant of the fact that things can soon change and strategy must reflect that. We’re more aware of the world around us, and consider this when creating our plans.
Strategy was once something you could treat as static, where you mapped all your ideas out and could follow them with confidence. Now it’s all about being flexible and adaptable, responding to new information as it emerges. Organizations that succeed with their strategy aren’t necessarily those with the most detailed plans, but rather those best equipped to evolve their plans as the world changes around them. Good strategy isn’t about predicting the future perfectly, but always being prepared for whatever comes our way.