Valuable Lessons for Strategists

A vital business strategy is required to succeed in business. It is critical that everyone in a company has clear goals and follows the organization’s direction or mission. A strategy can provide this vision and keep individuals focused on the goals of their company. Keeping this in mind, Willie Pietersen, professor of management practice at Columbia Business School, discusses some important lessons for strategists to learn in order to excel at business strategies.

Willie Pieterson begins the video by explaining how, to excel in a business strategy, it is critical to first understand what it is. From his very first lessons for strategists, Willie Pieterson believes that to ‘function strategically’, you must first be able to ‘think strategically’, as strategy is essentially nothing more than a system of thought. We need a strategy in the first place because of the scarcity of resources, which affects every organization. So, in essence, strategy is all about deciding how to allocate our limited resources in order to gain a competitive advantage. He then explains the distinction between strategy and planning, asserting that they are not the same thing. Another one from lessons for strategists is when he explains how strategy is about “doing the right things” and planning is about “doing them correctly.” They do, however, go hand in hand. Willie Pieterson recommends that the best strategy is one that is simple enough for everyone to understand as one of the most important lessons for strategists. He believes that a strategy’s strength lies in its simplicity because the simpler the strategy, the easier it is to understand and absorb the main idea precisely. One of the mistakes that strategists make when developing strategies is assuming that competition is constant. One of the biggest misconceptions is focusing solely on our progress considering that the competition is not making any reforms to advance. To compete successfully with them, it is wiser to believe they are always one step ahead of us. Consider the competitors’ countermoves and devise a strategy to respond to them long before they implement their countermoves. Willie Peterson describes strategy as a dynamic process as the final and one of the most important lessons for strategists. He proposes shifting from a strategy of learning to a strategy of learning as an ongoing process of learning and renewal. He concludes by stating that one of the most important lessons for strategists is strategic learning, which consists of four steps: learning, focusing, aligning, and executing.

Creating and implementing business strategies is not an easy task. However, Willie Pieterson’s lessons for strategists, will undoubtedly help you get started.