Most strategy work doesn’t lead to major change. But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In fact, success is more likely to be delivered through a series of incremental steps than through a single, giant leap. Revolutionary results can be obtained through evolutionary changes.
During the relentless growth of Tesco in the nineties and noughties, for example, the company kept the same four strategic objectives: (1) A strong core UK business, (2) Growing non-food market share, (3) Following the customer to provide new services (e.g. Tesco Mobile), and (4) A serious international business. I’m sure that the company carried out ongoing strategy reviews, and the initiatives and projects under the objectives changed from year to year, but the four objectives remained the same.
Apple’s success over the past 20 years has been similarly driven by a constant and consistent strategic focus on market-leading personal phones, computers, accessories and related services. The products and services offered by the company have changed, but the underlying strategic focus has not.
I’m currently working with a business that has grown strongly over the past five years – including through the pandemic – and is now looking ahead to its next phase of growth. At the end of a management workshop earlier this week, there was a slight sense of disappointment from the leadership team that the new, emerging priorities were not radically different to the existing strategy.
I saw it as a positive sign, however, and even without a big change in overall direction, we were able to identify new insights to deliver a better customer offer and some exciting ideas that will deliver real growth.
Sometimes, when markets are changing rapidly and your organisation is out of step, you need a strategic revolution, but most of the time evolutionary improvements are all that you need. What new growth opportunities could you discover for your business by simply taking a step back to review and refresh your strategy?
Off The Record: Revolution by The Beatles
You say you want a revolution,
Well, you know,
We all want to change the world.
You tell me that it’s evolution,
Well, you know,
We all want to change the world.