Business Strategy Destroys Your Business… Strategically

by Cam on August 20, 2009

We’ve all heard the hype…
  • “Apple is a game changer!”
  • “The government is going to revolutionize US healthcare!” (ahem.)
  • “Wal-Mart destroys their competitors!”
Business gunners — thinking companies with the best strategies — win, so they start going on their little retreats and coming up with “breakthrough” strategic advantages to:
  • “Make boatloads of money!”
  • “Gain market share!”
  • “Destroy the competition!”
Then they go out, hire a bunch of beard-scratchers to implement their strategy, and it all goes to hell in a handbasket. Companies don’t win on strategy.
  • The Ritz Carlton isn’t the best hotel chain in the world because of strategy.
  • BMW doesn’t make great cars because of strategy
  • Domino’s doesn’t make good pizzas because of strategy
  • Google ain’t gonna win on strategy.
How do they win?

Very simple. They serve their customers better than anyone else.

That’s it.

Done.

Go home.

If you focus exclusively on strategy, you’ll never get anything done, and you’ll lose sight of the most important thing – happy customers.

Your customer wants one thing, and one thing only…. to be satisfied. Take care of that – however it needs to be done – and all the rest is easy.

Most companies do nothing BUT satisfy their customers — as their top brass go on fancy retreats to dream up new “strategies” to penetrate new markets and build revenues (man, that sounds sexy).

Then their customers eventually bail on them for someone else who can take better care of them and fill their basic needs.

The rule is very simple.
  • Step 1: Satisfy you customers.
  • Step 2: go back to step 1
Don’t ever stop taking care of your customers, or someone else will.

We’ve been duped into believing “business” is supposed to be hard, painstaking, brutal, and treacherous. Like holding off a pack of wild dogs with a toothpick and a grape.

Business is real easy when you break it down…

Understand your customers.

Make sure they’re happy.

Keep your promises.

Execute.

FTW!

Leave a Comment

Previous post:

Next post: