2.2 KiB
2.2 KiB
Chapter 6: Getting Started Yourself
Core Argument
Situational awareness is fundamental to strategy, not a luxury. Most executives lack understanding of their business landscape yet few admit it.
The Competency Gap
Executives don't know what they don't know. Even seasoned leaders "fake it" without actual landscape understanding. Organizations conflate strategy (understanding position/movement) with tactical execution.
Lessons from Gaming (WoW Analogy)
MMORPGs teach business principles:
- Situational awareness before engagement
- Diverse aptitudes for different challenges
- Mandatory collaboration
- Systematic preparation
Well-coordinated raid teams outperform chaotic organizations because they understand their environment.
Anti-Pattern Organization Traits
Failing organizations exhibit:
- Cannot describe user needs
- Multiple conflicting languages/tools instead of common frameworks
- Poor transparency across silos
- Assumption-driven rather than evidence-based
- Excessive duplication resistance
- One-size-fits-all methods
- Avoidance of small, iterative approaches
- Confusion between aptitude types
- Bolted-on structures without integration
Implementation: Coordination Function
Organizations should establish a coordination function (spend control mechanism) that:
- Encourages mapping above certain expenditure thresholds
- Identifies patterns and duplication across units
- Challenges assumptions transparently
- Promotes doctrine compliance through visibility, not force
Mapping Principles
- "All models are wrong; some are merely useful"
- "Where before why" - identify position before justifying strategy
- Iterative, continuous learning cycles - not "Deathstar" all-encompassing efforts
- Executives must learn mapping themselves, not outsource strategic thinking
Key Takeaways
- Situational awareness is non-negotiable for strategy
- Maps create common language enabling transparency
- Implementation requires structural change via coordination functions
- Resistance is predictable - "too busy" or "too complex" often masks power consolidation
- Start small, iterate continuously
- Gaming discipline and systematic approaches outpace typical corporate strategy