How to Work On Your Business Using Strategy

Big Picture Thinking

Can you give a quick and straightforward answer to questions like:

• What are you working on this week/month/year?
• What is your business model or profit model?
• What are your goals for the next 2-3 years?

If you’re anything like most business owners I know (myself included), then you probably live in a real-life version of whack-a-mole with tasks, details, decisions, and fire drills coming at you daily.

I'm sure you've heard the phrase (cliché?): work on your business, not in it. Let's walk through a simple framework to do this. And no, this isn't something just for CEOs at huge companies.

What does this mean?

Consider this an introduction to strategy. We're looking past those fire drills to paint the picture of where we're going. Think of it as the intersection of "what" we want to do and "how" we'll achieve it (the "why" behind it is your motivating factor, not your strategy).

Strategy, as defined by some of the big hitters in the business world include:

• Setting goals and targets (both short and long range)
• Knowing your "unique" or competitive advantages
• Tweaking and refining your business model
• Planning and plotting where you're headed
• Building systems and executing

Why this matters

Getting lost in the weeds won't help you achieve your goals. Stepping back to focus on the business helps to achieve scale (i.e. the ability to sell or do more without consuming more time/effort).

The goal is to simplify everything into your focus areas. A carefully thought-out strategy leads to highly focused efforts and focus leads to success. Buffett, Gates, Jobs, and countless others attribute their success to focus.

Much of this probably sounds impractical and theoretical so far...

How to use it

Start simple and work your way up to something more complex. Carve out at least 1 day each week (or month) to think big picture, write down your goals and ambitions, be specific (more specific than that), have someone poke holes for you.

To get the ball rolling, here’s a checklist of questions to build a clear, actionable strategy:

1. What is my main goal for this business in the next 1-3 years?
2. Who is my ideal customer, and what specific problem do I solve for them? (Think of a single, specific person or business; it helps clarify.)
3. What makes my business unique or better than competitors? (How are you different.)
4. What products or services should I focus on to drive growth?
5. What resources (time, money, people) do I need to reach my goal?
6. Which areas of the business create the most value, and which are distractions?
7. What are the key risks or challenges I need to prepare for? (How could you lose.)
8. How will I measure success? What metrics should I track?
9. How will I adjust if things don’t go as expected? And when (specifically) will I know to start adjusting?
10. Am I regularly making time to review and refine this strategy?

Again, the roadmap is simple. It’s not a 100-page document; it’s a few clear objectives that guide your decisions.

• Be specific about what success looks like. For example, maybe your goal is to double your customer base in the next three years. Or, it could be increasing profit margins by 5% over the next 12 months.
• Map out what it will take to get there. If doubling your customer base is the goal, think about the “how.” Do you need to improve your marketing, expand your product line, or open a new location? These are your big moves.
• Allocate Your Time and Resources. Most importantly, align your time and resources with these priorities. Think of your time like an investment portfolio. If you’re putting all your effort into low-impact tasks, your “returns” will be low. But if you focus on tasks that connect to your big goals, your “returns” are likely to be higher. The same holds for your entire team.

When will you have time for all this? A great approach is to carve out one day each month just to focus on this big picture thinking. No emails, no phone calls, no day-to-day stuff. Just you, a notebook, and time to think about where the business is headed.

How about an example... Say you’re a retail business with sales on Amazon, your own website, and brick-and-mortar stores. Which channel do you focus on? Are you providing a premium or value product? Does your marketing reflect that? Do you have the suppliers to support that product quality and achieve your growth plan? How much capital (cash) will you need to get there? This is just a start...

Key takeaway — Big picture thinking (i.e. Strategy) involves both quantitative (numbers) and qualitative (words) thinking. It bridges the gap between where you want to go (goals) and how you'll get their (execution, competitive advantages, business model). Take time to review your strategy at least 1x per month.

If you're feeling stuck, send us a note at [email protected], we're here to help!