Business 2.0

Don't Believe the Hype About Strategy


The best way to build a company for the future is to cut back on meetings and get to work. There I sit, at yet another board meeting, listening to an executive drone on about sales strategy and product strategy as he points to slick overheads filled with analyses of potential markets and buzzwords about competitive positioning. Then it dawns on me -- almost no one in the room, including the person talking, has visited a customer or, for that matter, even used the company's product in their own work. Unable to contain myself, I blurt out, "How about this for a sales strategy: Instead of sitting around talking about customers, why not call on them? Why not try to sell to them and, at the same time, find out what they want so we can improve?"


Under almost all conditions, fast learners are going to outperform even the most brilliant planners.