This document provides strategies for 7 areas: commercial, brand, customer, sales, people, innovation, and communication. For each area, it lists common strategic questions and warnings about potential pitfalls to avoid. The overall document aims to help companies develop effective strategies by highlighting important considerations and strategy best practices.

1. 50 WAYS TO BE YOUR BEST

2. WHAT’S IT ALL ABOUT?
50 WAYS TO SOLVE TRICKY
BUSINESS ISSUES

3. SEVEN STRATEGY AREAS
1. COMMERCIAL
2. BRAND
3. CUSTOMER
4. SALES
5. PEOPLE
6. INNOVATION
7. COMMUNICATION

4. WHAT IS STRATEGY?
1. COMMERCIAL: Will this make money?
2. BRAND: Do people like us?
3. CUSTOMER: How do we reach them?
4. SALES: Can we generate enough?
5. PEOPLE: Will our staff make it happen?
6. INNOVATION: Do we have smart new ideas?
7. COMMUNICATION: How do we explain it?

6. • Winning aspiration?
• Where to play?
• How to win in chosen
markets?
• Capabilities needed?
Smart Strategy Warning
Too many priorities

7. • What do we want to do?
• What do we need to do?
• What is possible?
• When should we react?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t plan before thinking

8. • A number is not a strategy
• The hard art of standing
apart
• Concrete and aspirational
• How will we know when
we’re done?
Smart Strategy Warning
Avoid wishful thinking
3. PURSUE PRINCIPLES, NOT MONEY

9. • Who has done this
before?
• Ooch – run small tests
• Range of outcomes?
• Admit if you are wrong
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t go narrow early
4. WIDEN OPTIONS, ATTAIN DISTANCE

10. • Ask everyone first
• Find pockets of expertise
• Remove structural fog
• Leave your desk
Smart Strategy Warning
Strategy isn’t just for strategists
5. REMOVE SILOS

11. • Identify the nonsense
• Find uncommon sense
• Forget the competition
• Ignore the HIPPO
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t box tick
6. UNCOMMON SENSE V.
COMMON NONSENSE

12. • Identify your bull’s-eye
• Work out the NEMO
• Remove everything else
Smart Strategy Warning
No multiple objectives
7. FIND YOUR NEMO

13. 2. BRAND STRATEGY

14. • Map the market
• What are the factors?
• What direction is needed?
• Where is the opportunity?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t follow fool’s gold
1. GAP IN THE MARKET V.
MARKET IN THE GAP

15. • What don’t we know?
• What is the challenge?
• Are we all thinking the
same?
• Reinterpret the brief?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t use old assumptions
2. INVESTIGATE THE UNINTERESTING

16. • Do we have a brief?
• Have we asked why?
• Do we have WYSIATI?
• Are we feeling or thinking?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t rely on limited evidence
3. CHANGE THE PROBLEM

17. • Have we diverged?
• Have we converged?
• What is possible?
• What might happen?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t toe the company line
4. DOUBT EVERYTHING

18. • Is it all too neat?
• Strong or weak filters?
• Are we empowered?
• What is the adjacent
possible?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t remove messiness
5. MESSINESS = UNEXPECTED LINKS

19. • Less is better
• What is Minimum Viable
Progress?
• What is the priority?
• Can we do a reverse pilot?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t make it long-winded
6. MOST THINGS AREN’T WORTH DOING

20. • What kind of thing?
• What can we copy?
• What might it look like?
• How would we apply it?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t just steal blindly
7. COPY SOMETHING

21. 3. CUSTOMER STRATEGY

22. • What do they really think?
• Have we led the witness?
• Trustworthy data?
• Can we live test?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t accept all research
1. MISLEADING RESEARCH

23. • Is there a gap?
• Are they on autopilot?
• What can we trigger?
• Do we understand this?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume people will just
do what you want
2. THE THINKING/DOING GAP

24. • Delighting people doesn’t
work
• Satisfaction = loyalty?
• Are we driving disloyalty?
• What needs to change?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t annoy customers
3. DISLOYAL LOYALISTS

25. • Are customers leaving?
• Who are they telling?
• What behaviour can we
predict?
• What interventions might
help?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume satisfaction
4. CAN’T GET NO SATISFACTION

26. • Understand service recovery
• Recovered = stronger
• What often goes wrong?
• What can we do next?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t panic when things go
wrong
5. PANIC-FREE SERVICE RECOVERY

27. • What automatic decisions
do customers make?
• What are their defaults?
• What errors can we
anticipate?
• What can we re-engineer?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume rational behaviour
6. CUSTOMERS MAKE STRANGE DECISIONS

28. • How can we appeal to
better nature?
• What small change can
we make?
• What effect might result?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t always think big
7. SMALL CHANGES = BIG EFFECT

29. 4. SALES STRATEGY

30. • How do we sell?
• Do customers know more
than we do?
• Are we framing?
• Ambivert selling?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t leave selling to sales
1. SELLING ISN’T JUST FOR SALESPEOPLE

31. • Do we challenge?
• Do we differentiate?
• Do we tailor?
• What should we change?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t hard sell
2. SUCCESSFUL SELLING IS CHALLENGING

32. • Are we too cheerful?
• What can we reframe?
• What makes it more
difficult?
• What can we solve?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t be too optimistic
3. TRY RATIONAL DROWNING

33. • What’s the grabber?
• Where is the pain?
• What can we prove?
• Remove the bed of nails
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t tell too long a story
4. THE HAMMOCK

34. • Are we obsessed with new
business?
• How can we improvise with
existing customers?
• Are we looking after old
business?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t just chase new business
5. NEW BUSINESS COULD BE OLD BUSINESS

35. • Are we mass or niche?
• What is weird about our
product or customers?
• What oddness can we
celebrate?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t sell everything to everyone
6. WEIRD IS THE NEW NORMAL

36. • Do we have a gap?
• How do we bridge it?
• Too many features?
• Too many opinions?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t overcomplicate things
7. THE STRATEGY/EXECUTION GAP

37. 5. PEOPLE STRATEGY

38. • Numbers don’t motivate
• Staff communication?
• Staff views?
• Purpose and principles?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t emphasize numbers
1. MANAGE THE PEOPLE,
NOT THE NUMBERS

39. • What can we influence?
• Absolute or relative?
• Feedback and adjust fast?
• Err on what side?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume people get it
2. CLEAR THINKING + COURAGEOUS ACTION

40. • Why do we exist?
• How do we behave?
• What is most important?
• Who must do what?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t ignore the basics
3. ENSURE ORGANISATIONAL HEALTH

41. • Clear goals?
• Immersed in activities?
• Enjoying immediate
experience?
• Truly engaged?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t interrupt people in flow
4. GET PEOPLE IN FLOW

42. • Dysfunctional teams?
• Absence of trust?
• Fear of conflict?
• Team analysis?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume they agree
5. TRUST AND TEAMWORK

43. • Autonomy?
• Mastery?
• Purpose?
• What can you master?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t allow passive
aggression
6. EVERYONE CAN MASTER SOMETHING

44. • Tell them what not how
• Provide organized space
• Connect with clever peers
• Shelter from
organizational rain
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t underestimate clevers
7. THE POWER OF CLEVERS

45. 6. INNOVATION STRATEGY

46. • Must meet a customer
and company need
• Resource constraints?
• Growth goals?
• Multi-disciplinary teams
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t suspend money
questions
1. THE CREATIVITY + COMMERCE
CROSSROADS

47. • Systematic Inventive
Thinking
• Subtract, divide, multiply
• Task unification?
• Describe it in 5 words
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t take anything for
granted
2. SIT AND AUDIT

48. • Forget products
• How is this a service?
• Customer ideas?
• External ideas?
Smart Strategy Warning
Avoid the commodity trap
3. SEE YOUR BUSINESS AS A SERVICE

49. • Something different that
has impact
• What if?
• Provoke and prototype
• Who is the protagonist?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t stifle provocateurs
4. MAKE YOUR OWN LUCK

50. • Do everything at once
• How many ideas have we
got?
• How many can we do free?
• How fast can we adjust?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t limit effort to one thing
5. COMPETE ON ALL FRONTS AT ONCE

51. • Is there a true need?
• Do the numbers work?
• Does it matter?
• Learn and adjust fast
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t spreadsheet dance
6. THE FRAUGHT FIRST MILE

52. • Start with the customer
• What is cheapest or free?
• Who else can help?
• What can start-ups teach
us?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t rely on big budgets
7. KEEP IT FRUGAL

53. 7. COMMUNCATION
STRATEGY

54. • How brief can we be?
• Map, tell, talk, show
• Talk, actively listen,
converse
• Deep brevity wins
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t be vague or lengthy
1. SAY LESS FOR MORE IMPACT

55. • What is the audience?
• What should our approach
be?
• What should our tone be?
• WIFM?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t broadcast blandly
2. POLITE DIRECTNESS

56. • What social currency do we
have?
• What emotion can we elicit?
• Why should they agree?
• Why should they share?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t assume they’ll engage
3. GIVE IT SOCIAL CURRENCY

57. • Get out of victim stage
• What is possible?
• Use constraint to spur better
thinking
• We can if…
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t wallow in constraints
4. DISADVANTAGE CAN BE ADVANTAGE

58. • What have we done?
• What can we tell people?
• What is overclaim?
• Should we change
something before
communicating anything?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t claim what isn’t true
5. DO THINGS AND TELL PEOPLE

59. • What is the audience?
• What is the right language?
• Have we rehearsed?
• What is our message on a
postcard?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t use cliché and jargon
6. MIND YOUR LANGUAGE

60. • What mistakes are we
making?
• What is realistic?
• What do we need to clarify?
• Can we make it simpler?
Smart Strategy Warning
Don’t make fanciful claims
7. LEARN FROM MISTAKES