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WHERE DOES STRATEGY COME FROM?

Screen Shot 2013-04-23 at 4.21.10 PMNot too long ago I spoke with a group of UNC Ad Club students who were interested in pursuing planning as a career. Many had been through internships in larger agencies where planner roles and related job titles varied widely. My take was that titles don’t really matter. They should find out what titles or group of people within the agency are responsible for strategy, and that’s where they should try to find a job. Strategists have a a keen perspective on the marketplace, the competition and the client’s business that are at the heart of effective planning.

That was all well and good, until someone asked, “Where does strategy come from?” At the time, I gave what I thought was a good answer about the process that leads to a good strategy. Looking back, this is what I should have said:

Developing a strategy is just like playing chess, driving home during rush hour or even coaching a football team. In theory anyone can do it, but early success is rare. Over time it becomes easier. Patterns emerge. Opportunities reveal themselves. Outcomes become more predictable.

In the end, Strategy comes from experience. It comes from the ability to process lots of seemingly unrelated information and identify a better solution, knowing there is always room to adapt and improve. Strategy comes from a mindset to outthink others. Bobby Fischer did it with chess. Bill Belichick does it on a football sideline. Where will you shine? What is your strategy?

by Dwayne Fry Brand Futurist/Minister of Strategy/Department of Idealists

MURDOCH: “EMBRACE TECHNOLOGIES”

New Technology Allow Little Guys To Compete With Giants

In his second of five Boyer Lectures, The Challenge of Technology, Mr. Murdoch says people should stop whining about the challenge of new technology and “get out in front of it”. He says new technology, such as the internet, is destroying business models that have been used for decades, particularly those with a “one size fits all” approach to their customers. People can do more of what they want at a cheaper cost and the disadvantaged now have greater access to information than at any time in history, Mr. Murdoch says.

The result is technology is “allowing the little guy to do what once required a huge corporation”. How are you using new technologies to beat bigger competitors?

Read More Here

by Mike Randall Brand Futurist The Republik Captain Strategic Ops

Photo Credit: Unknown – Licensed CC-BY-NC-SA