The Pitfalls of a Hope-Based Business Strategy<\/h2>\n

First of all, what is a hope-based strategy? Many would say that it means you do not have a plan. While that\u2019s partially true, the issue runs deeper than this snarky explanation.<\/p>\n

A hope-based strategy may mean that you have a plan but it is not realistic because of the timeline. Or that the organization lacks resources to execute the plan. Or that you have a plan that does nothing more than collect dust.<\/p>\n

In any case, it means that there is no visible evidence that intentional activities are being performed to cause the desired outcome. <\/em>You are doing what you do, hoping that it ends up the way you want it to. Sound familiar?<\/p>\n

Issues<\/h3>\n

The obvious issue with a hope-based strategy is that it is unlikely to work. But there are other pitfalls that are less noticeable and clearly as dangerous. The first relates to how others in the organization view a hope-based strategy. It erodes credibility. And if you are attached to it, then it erodes your credibility. If you lead people, their trust in you will diminish and your organization\u2019s performance will suffer.<\/p>\n

The second is that resources are likely being directed to someplace other than their highest and best use. The primary purpose of a strategy is to assist with the allocation of all types of resources and focus the organization. In the absence of a realistic strategy, resources will flow to the loudest need in the short term. This is often not best for the organization.<\/p>\n

I claim not to have controlled events, but confess plainly that events have controlled me. <\/em><\/p>\n

– Abraham Lincoln<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Recommendations<\/h3>\n

When it comes to strategy, the first recommendation is to have a clearly articulated one<\/strong>. Test-drive its clarity by sharing it with others before you call it final. Make sure your vision for the end state resonates.<\/p>\n

The second recommendation is to ensure that the right people are involved in its formulation<\/strong>. You will need to cover the spectrum of perspectives in order to achieve the support it will need to be successful. That means assembling a diverse group of people to build it.<\/p>\n

Having a clear strategy may take some work up front but it will be well worth it in the end.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many would say that a hope-based strategy means you do not have a plan. While that\u2019s partially true, the issue runs deeper than this snarky explanation. This week\u2019s article discusses the issues that arise when there is no visible evidence that you are performing intentional activities with an end goal in mind. Essentially, you are continuing to operate your business by just hoping that the results end up the way you want. Sound familiar? If so, don\u2019t fret. It happens to the best of us! You may find my recommendations for creating a clear strategy well worth your efforts in the end. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":697,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[8,6],"tags":[44],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=698"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":703,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/698\/revisions\/703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/697"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=698"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=698"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thepeopleadvantage.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=698"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}