What the Hell is a Strategy Anyway?

I don't think I could define the word "strategy" until I was in my 30s and an executive at a major financial institution in the 1980s.

I was very proud of a marketing campaign I had just spent weeks working on, and I brought it to a senior marketing leader for approval.

She glared at me with disdain (or at least that was my interpretation) and declared, "What do you expect me to do with this? I have no clue what your strategy is." She handed it back to me as if it was a bag of dog poop and made it clear that I needed to leave her office. She looked away and got back to whatever was on her desk. Ouch!

I learned two things from that experience:

1. Some women leaders may not be well-suited to be teachers and mentors.

2. I needed to figure out what the hell a strategy is so I could deliver it next time. (I even took a couple of executive courses to hone my skills.)

So, I'll save all of you readers the pain of that "Devil Wears Prada moment" and explain to you why a strategy IS important.

We live in an era where a lot of focus is put on tactics like social media posts, digital campaigns, and activity calendars, some of which are even created via AI.

But a strategy is a higher-level overview of WHY you are doing what you're doing:

• High-level objectives

• The audience you are targeting with your product, service, or message and what they value (their values, needs, and other choices)

• Your competition and how you will differentiate yourself from them

• How you will allocate resources (people, spending, and media) to achieve the objectives

Once you've pinpointed those things, developing tactics underneath them becomes easier and more cost-effective.

According to my AI sidekick (who I've nicknamed FIFI, because anything that helpful must be a cool woman who has seen a lot of the world):

"Strategy is a comprehensive plan or approach designed to achieve specific, long-term goals, often in the face of competition or uncertainty. It involves making choices about how to allocate resources, identify competitive advantages, and coordinate actions to achieve desired outcomes."

You can have a strategy for a business plan, a marketing effort, or even your personal life.

For example, my own personal strategy is "To live to be at least 100 while remaining financially secure, curious, social, active, helpful to others, and positive." The activities (tactics) I engage in to deliver against that strategy include weightlifting, clean eating, travel, volunteerism, and communities like SOS.

Need help crafting a life or work strategy? You know where to find me! I promise I won't throw you out of my (virtual) office!

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