What Alice Didn't Know About Strategy

Do you struggle with consistency in your business? Is strategizing something you do at the beginning of the year and quickly forget? I get it; I struggle with it, too, but keep reading as I have an unusual suggestion to help you get into the strategic groove.

Consistency with brand strategy isn't an issue of follow-through or willpower; it isn't steps or action plans. It’s an issue of clear direction and motivation. If you need help with consistency with strategy, focus on something other than the actions and behaviors of implementing the plan; instead, zoom out to view the bigger picture and focus on your purpose. 

Your purpose is much greater than a bland statement you post on your website under "Mission, Vision, Purpose." It is, infact, your brand's lifeblood, a uniquely calibrated internal compass, and a fierce driving force. It brings up emotion when you talk, think, or embody it. It's connected to your reason for living, values, beliefs, and ties to a much bigger calling. Your purpose (or, as I refer to it, your "brand integrity") in your business is the end destination that all strategies align with and the ultimate realization of everything you are building towards in your brand. 

If you set out to build a strategy and don't have a clear destination, your efforts will fail and flounder before you can see results. Your path forward will be uncertain and confusing. It's like when Alice asks The Cheshire Cat for directions in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

Alice: "Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

The Cheshire Cat: "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to."

Alice: "I don't much care where."

The Cheshire Cat: "Then it doesn't much matter which way you go."

Alice: "…so long as I get somewhere."

The Cheshire Cat: "Oh, you're sure to do that, if only you walk long enough."

You’re bound to get somewhere in your business without following a consistent strategy, but is that place really where you want to go? Is the route the most efficient you could take?

To build a strategic and consistent brand, spend as much time as you need to tap into the beating heart of your business, your purpose statement, before doing anything else. This process can take time but is well worth your investment and may help you shift from a pattern of starting and stopping to a state of flow, clarity, and profitability.

To summarize, when you are frustrated with taking regular strategic action in your business, ditch the checklists and framework and spend time soul-searching. Ask yourself, "Why am I in business beyond wanting to earn money? What is the deeper reason for the work I do?" This simple prompt can unlock a whole realm of possibility. 

I would love to hear if this perspective shift helps you reframe your relationship with consistency in developing a brand and/or business strategy.