The best thing you can do to develop your strategy

Good strategies are like good pop songs. Short, simple, easy to recite and moving. The clever thing about pop songs is how they can sound so different from each other using pretty much the same chords and instruments. That difference comes from the creativity of arranging the score in a way that makes the song stand out – like Taylor Swift’s ‘Love Story’. That’s sold 18 million copies even though she uses a standard backing band formation to play the same four chord progression that made the Beatles (‘Let it be’) and U2 (‘With or Without You’) famous.

So what’s the one thing you can do to make your strategy different?
Well, following Taylor’s lead, the best way to improve the impact of your strategy doesn’t lie so much in what you have to play with as how you play with it. It isn’t what you’re lacking on your balance sheet or your people’s technical skills that’s holding you back, it’s your creativity; your ability to imagine a future that doesn’t yet exist.

So what’s the one thing you can do to become more creative?
According to John Cleese, referring to the work of Donald McKinnon, accessing creativity means overcoming the anxiety of not having the answer. Creativity is about having the curiosity to explore ideas, and having the courage to keep on exploring even after the first solution presents itself.

‘The most creative people,’ Cleese says, ‘are those who have learned to tolerate that discomfort [of not making a decision] for much longer.’ He says that the need to show confidence by being decisive quickly ‘is the most effective way of strangling creativity at birth’.

As a student of Adaptability, this is all fascinating. For a start, the three pillars of Adaptability (Curiosity, Courage, Velocity) all seem to apply to creativity. That's not so surprising as they both relate to change. But what is surprising is that whilst I’ve always found that Adaptability requires more velocity, I’ve just learned that creativity requires less – from the man who created Basil Fawlty, no less.

To think of strategy primarily as a rational, data-based process is a mistake. It is a creative process, born of people’s ability and willingness to explore and play; to imagine possibilities; to have the freedom to think, speak and act differently.

So if you want to create strategy that moves your entire organisation, don’t just write it, compose it.

Rich Alderton specialises in raising Adaptability Intelligence, so why not call us on 07873 823 800, email us or complete our enquiry form?

And Rich's free e-book 'Mastering Adaptability' is available here.