Twelfth Day
10 principles to
better strategy Let’s get one thing straight – creating strategy isn’t easy. Or to be more
accurate, creating good strategy isn’t easy. By good I mean the kind of
strategy that gives you a tangible advantage over your competitors.
It seems curious then that so many marketers and their agencies make
the process so much more difficult by ignoring the simple principles that
underpin good strategic thinking – the principles followed by top strategic
thinkers the world over.
The following represents 10 core principles every marketer should consider
before they get anywhere near a whiteboard marker or a PowerPoint deck.
1: Principle of purpose Many strategies go off the rails right at the very beginning because their
creators fail to spend enough time articulating precisely what the problem is
and what success looks like.
Importantly, you should also check your assumptions about the ‘facts’ of
the situation as well as spending some time thinking about what is not the
problem (ie what is simply irrelevant or a distraction).
Once you are clear on the objectives, prioritise. All objectives are not created
equal. If you achieve just one thing with your strategy, what should it be?
2: Principle of initiative Too many strategies are reactive – knee-jerk reactions to market events and
perceived threats. Of course there is nothing wrong with reacting to the
market but it is far preferable to act than react. Your strategies should seek
to drive the market and its agenda. If you have to defend a position, do so
only until you can go back on the offensive.
3: Principle of flexibility In war, they say, the first thing that goes out of the window is the plan.
So plan for it.
Hold fast to your broad strategic objectives (what military strategists call
‘the commander’s intent’) but be ultimately flexible on how you achieve
them. Have a plan B (or at least have some back-up tactics ready to go).
Try stuff. Experiment.
4: Principle of time Time. Is it on your side? How does this affect your strategy? What would
it take to act so fast that no competitor could successfully counter?
Alternatively, can you play a waiting game if you have to?

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5: Principle of concentration Few companies (if any) have unlimited resources. This means that it is
impractical to try to be all things to all people or to fight every battle
on multiple fronts.
Instead, focus your resources. Fight the battles you can win. Better still
make the battle about something else altogether (see the Principle of Initiative
above). Use most resources where you can achieve the greatest success. Play
a holding game elsewhere.
6: Principle of surprise Refuse to be predictable. Keep your competitors off guard. Keep your
customers guessing (Apple is the master of this approach). Be audacious.
Look at how you can disrupt market conventions. What can you do to
distract attention away from your competitors? Be sneaky.
7: Principle of simplicity As they used to say in aircraft design, “keep it simple stupid” (the origin of
the KISS acronym). A complex strategy is usually a poor strategy. It is best
to work on the premise that whatever can go wrong probably will. With a
complex, multipart strategy, there is more scope for things to go wrong.
8: Principle of unity Good strategies die in committees.
Have a limited number of people making the decisions. Make sure those
people are qualified to do so. But also ensure you have a diverse set of
opinions so that you avoid the perils of group-think.
9: Principle of morale Simply, you must believe you can win. This means that you have to sell
in your strategy to the wider organisation (especially sales). They need to
believe in the approach so that they can get behind it. Too many strategies
fail at the implementation stage because their creators forget this.
10: Principle of asymmetry Asymmetric strategies are those for which there is no credible response.
They defeat the competitors’ strategic imaginations. They can best be
summed up in a quote from the late Anita Roddick, “Do what others can’t
or won’t.”
I hope you found this paper useful. For more thinking
and resources, visit www.12thday.co.uk.