There is a quote attributed to Mike Tyson that says something along the lines of “everyone has a strategy until they get punched in the mouth.”
Which is pretty true.
Your strategy, when thought about in that context has tremendous potential and opportunity…until you actually start taking action on it.
Once that happens, things are likely to not seem so simple and things are likely to be much more harrowing.
This means that ultimately you are going to need to be prepared to change.
That’s just a reality of life. Your strategy, my strategy, anyone’s isn’t some thing that is set in stone. It is a living, breathing document that has to adapt to the world around it.
If not, it isn’t a strategy, but more of a weight sucking you down.
That’s why you have to think about and manage your strategy for the inevitable, change.
You can focus on the need to constantly revisit and adapt your strategy by focusing on a few simple things.
First, you want to have a certain amount of ongoing market research that goes on.
This means you need to be aware of the market.
What is working for you?
What’s the feedback from your customers?
What is working for your competition?
Next, you need to have pre-planned checkin points.
You don’t want your strategy to be off kilter and never have a point where everyone gets together to discuss it.
You need to have quarterly meetings on what is going on, what isn’t, what’s changed…and plan to alter or adjust according to the realities on the ground.