Today’s “strategy sighting” is based on a photo. It’s not the best of photos, but it represents the best of times. It was taken on my dock at my cottage last summer, during a strategy development session with colleagues from three countries, all involved in Thought Leaders Business School. We took time to dive deep into our individual practices, out loud, and benefited from the wisdom of others to set them on an even better course.
What do I love about this approach to strategy? It was inspired and inspiring. Our performance was elevated by:
- A gorgeous setting and delicious food (courtesy of my mom!)
- Doing something as a group that we might normally wrestle through alone
- People who were all-in and willing to make the trip to Muskoka — in one case all the way from Germany!
- Colleagues who are supportive, well-informed and already performing impressively — and willing to share transparently what they’re up to
- A mix of directional and empirical strategy setting
What do I mean by that last point?
Let me share an example from my practice:
Directionally, I would like to be doing proportionately less strategic planning work and more speaking and group coaching work over the next couple of years.
That might be enough of an intention to guide my decisions.
Or, I could make it more empirical:
I would like strategic planning to shift from 65% of my time to 50% of my time, with the difference being made up by speaking and group coaching, with no drop in revenue.
And more specifically:
I will experiment with offering one digital, one local and one international coaching retreat per year in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
I find this to be true with my clients as well: sometimes strategy needs to be highly measurable. Sometimes setting a direction rather than a measurable target is enough.
While I’m on the topic of solopreneur strategizing, I want to give a shoutout to Gord Goldschleger — his posts on his personal practice strategy got me thinking about this one; here’s a great example. I love the simplicity and the focus on “metrics that matter.” That’s the game we’re playing.