Before I begin, please keep in mind that the goal of this discussion is not to get caught up in semantics. The goal is for you and your planning team to have a unified basis for evaluating ideas so that you can begin the process of deliberately converting ideas into actionable strategies.

Strategy versus Tactic

As a strategic planning expert for more than fifteen years, it has been the case most often that I am given a series of tactics when I ask a potential client what is their current strategy for achieving their objective. Most people think they have a strategy when all they really have are tactics. This confusion is common and can undermine the entire strategic planning process. It will serve your strategic planning efforts well to understand and be able to distinguish strategies versus tactics.

Tactics are specific actions that promote achievement of a strategy. The hierarchical order goes like this:

A tactic supports achievement of a strategy.
A strategy supports achievement of an objective.
An objective supports achievement of a mission.
A mission supports achievement of a vision.
Achievement of a vision fulfills purpose.

Only having tactics without actionable and integrated strategies is a primary reason why so many business owners and executives are frustrated and simply spinning their wheels. In other words, they are busier than ever before and investing significant resources, but not experiencing significant progress on their objectives or anything close to the expected return on their investment.

Please do not think for a moment that tactics play a less valuable role in the success of an objective. The right tactics are just as important as the right strategy. Ineffective tactical support can render an otherwise effective strategy useless in (and sometimes destructive to) achieving an objective.

What is a Strategy?

In its simplest form, a strategy is a clear decision and statement about a chosen course of action for obtaining a specific goal or result. While this definition is succinct and suffices for a general discussion, this definition and those like it have no practical value for organizational strategic planning efforts. Why? It provides no basis for evaluating whether a strategy is actionable. Actionable strategies are the only kind that matter in business.

What is an Actionable Strategy?

From the perspective of successful strategic planning, there are two kinds of strategies: actionable strategies and all other strategies. My definition of an actionable strategy states:

An actionable strategy is a comprehensively scrutinized decision about the most effective and efficient use of specific resources for systematically increasing competitive advantage and profits over a specific period of time.

Side note: If increasing competitive advantage and profits over a specific period of time is not the goal of your current strategic planning efforts, then just substitute your goal in this definition to make it specific to your needs.

Actionable strategies are a fundamental part of the Actionable Strategic Planning® process as they support business growth in multiple ways and enhance your chances of success if the right minds are engaged in consistently monitoring, evaluating and integrating new information and adapting the strategy as necessary.

To your success,
Sherrin Ross Ingram
America’s Leading Power Strategist
http://www.sherrin.com

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Whether it’s fear of being alone, fear of suffering the negative effects of poverty, fear of becoming terminally ill, or fear of business failure, fear (in its many forms) is a powerful motivator. However, it’s been my experience that attempts to change that are motivated by fear fail in due time.

The problem with changes driven by fear is that you need to live in a constant state of fear to stick with your plan and maintain the changes. Living in a long-term, constant state of fear is paralyzing to your mental and spiritual outlook and ultimately leads to physical exhaustion. Once the fear or the perceived threat is diminished (for example, you realize that you won’t live in poverty even if you’re not wealthy), the resolve to remain fully committed to the new changes diminishes also.

I believe it is far better to be driven to change by self-love and self-respect. Love and respect can be just as powerful as fear when it comes to directing behavior. The difference, however, is profound when the long-term effects are compared. Fear produces a stress effect that damages and exhausts the body, mind and spirit. Love and respect heals and builds the body, mind and spirit. Another difference is that the things we do when we are fearful are not usually things we want to do. And, most important, we don’t feel good about ourselves after we’ve done them. Behavior and choices based on love and respect are usually the opposite. We usually want to do the things we do and we feel really good about ourselves after we’ve done them. This even applies to those seemingly unpleasant tasks.

Some extraordinary positive things happen when self-love and self-respect drive change:

1. You recognize that your life is a gift and that your precious gift of life deserves every opportunity to fulfill its potential.
2. You recognize that it is your responsibility to nurture your gift of life in the highest and best way.
3. You recognize a need to love yourself enough to be conscious about your choices.
4. You recognize the need to respect yourself by not sabotaging your opportunities with unsupportive choices.
5. You make a choice to allow in your life only those things and relationships that honor your life’s purpose.
6. You recognize that to love and respect yourself in these ways may require fundamental changes in some of your beliefs and the establishment of supportive habits … and you’re eager to do it.

Although everything I’ve discussed has been in the context of personal change, it all applies equally to your business as well.

Wherever you are in your journey, I encourage you to explore and acknowledge the driving force(s) for your choices and behaviors. Take proactive steps to harness the power of self-love and self-respect. When your desire to change is driven by true love and respect for yourself, you will find it easier to continue doing what is necessary to make and maintain the changes you desire.

Until my next post, keep expecting the best from and for yourself!

Sherrin

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THE BOTTOM LINE: The better you are at selling, the more goals you’ll achieve. Just think of how much your financial situation, for example, would improve if you were able to sell more of your services or command a higher price for your services. That’s why it makes sense to do all you can to improve your personal sales skills.

Begin improving your sales skills by following Wealth Mentality’s Seven Principles of Sales Success: (1) know your product, (2) know your market, (3) know your customer, (4) service your customers better than anyone else, (5) seek out and exhaust all sales leads, (6) innovate, and (7) continue your education.