Having a solid structure to work from, means the occasions where you do have to think on your feet are more likely to produce positive outcomes. It stands to reason that perfected systems and staff with high confidence levels (the results of a set approach) are better equipped to improvise.

Your current offering represents your ‘buy-in’ to the market and in much the same way as poker, if this is insufficient, the player (you) cannot compete. This ‘table stake’ could be a price point, or specific feature your offering has, that makes it an option to a potential customer.

For company leaders particularly, a week in the office can seem like being pulled in a hundred different directions as they tick off, firefight, or deal with a great variety of tasks. Whilst nobody could accuse these leaders of a lack of diligence, does having a lack of coherent focus mean their business is running below potential?

It feels naturally wrong to pre-suppose upcoming events. However, I would argue that strategy is as much to do with the past and the present, which inform the likelihood of what will happen next.

Therefore, if you feel on top of your work now, it’s conceivable that you will be on top of it in the future. Don’t be phased.

Working within a company may not be as physically exerting as scaling a mountain, but it is nonetheless exhausting. Using plateau periods to reenergise facilitates more effective progress in the future. Non-stop exertion will only damage the organisation and eventually lead to burnout. Think about how you are feeling. Consider how your colleagues and employees might be feeling.

Having a tactical focus will be the default position for many leaders. This means dealing with current opportunities and challenges to ensure short-to-medium-term results. As important as this is, not just for overall performance and morale, it is vital that organisations have a more far-reaching strategy for the future. This will facilitate longer-term success that is sustainable and ensures all shorter activities run in a consistent direction.

Consider your company’s main aim: where do you want to go? This is your driving ‘why,’ the reason you are in business, the reason you get out of bed every day and tolerate that commute. Losing sight of this vision can be easy amongst the day-to-day challenges; you’re still working towards it, just without the spirit and direction you once had. Taking time to realign with this purpose is vital to motivate yourself and to propel your company forward…

Take a look at your company. What would you identify as your areas of particular strength? This could be a product, a service, or your communication with customers. As it stands, these company competencies are the reason people do business with you. Therefore, you should look to build your organisation around them for the best chance of success…

If we personally suffer from short sightedness (myopia) there are a few well proven options, glasses, contact lenses, etc., to correct this condition. Unfortunately, when organisations suffer from a similar condition, in terms of anticipating the future, the solutions can be more difficult to implement. Sometimes a degree of denial can be in place, which can make admitting this condition more complex. For humans, myopia is not terminal but inconvenient; for companies it can be far more serious…

Marie Kondo is an organising consultant whose methodical approach to decluttering has grown a worldwide following over the past few years. Her practices are built around a simple, five-step process:

1. Discarding by category comes first.

2. Break a category into subcategories as necessary.

3. Keep only those things that spark joy.

4. After you’ve finished discarding, organise your space thoroughly and completely.

5. Do it all in one go.

There is an amount of detail behind each step, but the basic principle is to keep things that serve or bring you joy. Simple but liberating when applied…

• Is the gap between the business you want to create and reality growing?

• Do you wish to develop you company but are unsure either of what improvements to make or how to implement them?

• Are you frustrated because your efforts and outcomes seem imbalanced?

If any of these concerns apply, you may be caught in the success trap…

Satisfied clients/customers might continue their relationship with your company, but there is always the possibility that they may choose one of your competitors with a more favourable offering. Therefore, the best way to retain their business is to delight them, going beyond what they would expect…

During my work as a coach, one of the situations I come across most frequently is business owners and leaders that are operating profitable, growing companies but do not feel successful. There is a misalignment between what the numbers are saying and how things are really progressing both for them and their team. They fit the analogy of the swan well, where things seem serene above the water, but this is at odds with the stress and strains below which are maintaining momentum. I call this condition the success trap…

During the pandemic, most business have had to adapt their processes and offerings. This is particularly true for the health and fitness sector whose communal gyms and active spaces have been closed. Consequently, developing a service that could function without physical interaction became essential if great losses were to be avoided…

Strategy can be related to the longer-term mission and vision you want your company to achieve. Tactics are shorter-term actions that keep you aligned with whatever the current trends may be or the immediate challenges and opportunities you might have. Pricing, positioning, and proposition can be tactically adjusted to make sure the overall strategy is running effectively…

Ben & Jerry’s are a company who recognise the importance of involving customers in their brand. They created the ‘Do the World a Flavor’ campaign that allowed members of the public to design their own ice cream, for the chance to see them sold on the high street.

In a specifically developed piece of software customers could choose the base flavour, chunks, swirls, and name of their unique creation. The recipes that were chosen would be released at Ben & Jerry’s outlets for a year, and standout successes such as ‘Cherry Garcia’ would continue to be produced…

A good example of company who seek to differentiate their product is Airstream. Airstream produce campervans and caravans which are designed to stand out from the crowd and embody the values of timelessness, convenience, and pleasure…

Competing in a market is more demanding than simply equalling the basic services that other businesses provide. To truly grow and improve your position you must possess a differentiating factor that separates you from your competitors, this becomes your relevance. The greater the fit between the needs of your target audience and your offering, the more influential your advantage…

Having mission coherence is vital to effectively carrying out a plan. This was demonstrated by the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

With the Allied forces penned in by German advances, the situation seemed dire. Britain would lose its army, providing the Nazi cause with the tangible vision of victory. The Allied troops would have to be evacuated by sea...

Many new companies start out when an entrepreneur sees a gap in the market, having the foresight and drive to exploit it. However, mission coherence represents a move away from opportunism to a more structured plan, as the business becomes more established…