~ Applying WORDS ~
STRATEGY: from Greek στρατηγία stratēgia, "art of HUMAN LEADERSHIP”; is a high level plan to achieve one or more outcomes under conditions of uncertainty. Strategy is important because the resources available to achieve these outcomes are usually limited. Strategy has many definitions, but generally involves setting outcomes, determining actions to achieve the vital goals, and mobilizing resources to execute the actions leading to outcomes and ultimately to arranged futures.
Modern business strategy emerged as a field of study and practice in the 1960s; prior to that time, the words "strategy" and "competition" rarely appeared in the most prominent management literature. Alfred Chandler wrote in 1962 that: "Strategy is the determination of the basic long-term goals of an enterprise, and the adoption of courses of action and the allocation of resources necessary for carrying out these goals." Michael Porter defined strategy in 1980 as the "…broad formula for how a business is going to compete, what its goals should be, and what policies will be needed to carry out those goals" and the "…combination of the ends (goals) for which the firm is striving and the means (policies) by which it is seeking to get there." He continued that: "The essence of formulating competitive strategy is relating a company to its ENVIRONMENT."
Henry Mintzberg described five definitions of strategy in 1998:
· Strategy as plan – a directed course of action to achieve an intended set of goals; similar to the strategic planning concept;
· Strategy as pattern – a consistent pattern of past behaviour, with a strategy realized over time rather than planned or intended. Where the realized pattern was different from the intent, he referred to the strategy as emergent;
· Strategy as position – locating brands, products, or companies within the market, based on the conceptual framework of consumers or other stakeholders; a strategy determined primarily by factors outside the firm;
· Strategy as ploy – a specific manoeuvre intended to outwit a competitor; and
· Strategy as perspective – executing strategy based on a "theory of the business" or natural extension of the mindset or ideological perspective of the organization.
From Wikipedia
For me, Strategy is not a plan. A plan is the steps of the pathway. The strategy is the one over-riding focussed arrangement.
TACTIC: (from Greek τακτική taktike "art of ARRANGEMENT") is a conceptual action implemented as one or more specific vital tasks. Tactics, then, are isolated actions or events that take advantage of opportunities offered by the gaps within a given strategic system, although the tactician never holds onto these advantages. Tactics cut across a competitors Business strategies in the business marketplace, interpreting gaps in the market trends to generate novel and inventive tactical outcomes creating a long term ARRANGEMENT. Tactics are usually used to compete in the business marketplace allowing each brand strategy to create their own market edge in a competitive marketplace.
Viability and sustainability are required in setting the Brand context (SPACE) for the long term.
1. VIABILITY: is the ability of a thing (a living organism, an artificial system, an idea, etc.) to maintain itself or realize full potentialities of any event.
2. SUSTAINABILITY: is the ability of a system to endure and remain diverse and productive for long periods of “TIME”. = Healthy and continuing Growing.
ARRANGEMENT: The act or process of arranging conditions, materials, or ideas into a result of being arranged. Creating order in Omni happenings or events that create a materialized future.
A Collection of Happenings/Events That Have Been Arranged By HUMAN DESIGN
Created Future:
I. Mission (Meta-Physical)
II. Vision (Meta-Physical)
III. Arrangement (Physical)
Driven By Designed Movement (Vital Action PHYSICAL)
I have been using the four coloured DOTS for many years as part of my business design tool kit. The DOTS are about any human’s ability to connect DOTS in BUSINESS DESIGN. You cannot create a business without considering the 4 DOTS. They are absolutes of every business, like it or not. No business or Human life form (in this matter) is exempted (is free from the 4 DOTS). The 4 DOTS are true in all cases!
COST TIME ACTIVITIES EXCHANGE
COSTS =
1. Energy
2. Space
3. Time
Driver is Exchange (In all forms)
TIME =
1. Point in Time
2. Across Time
3. Between Time
Driver is Timing (In every Happening)
ACTIVITIES =
1. Physical
2. Meta-physical
3. Communication
Driver is by Business/Human Living Space (Circumstance)
EXCHANGE =
1. Energy
2. Space
3. Time
Driver is Movement towards created FUTURES (Out-ward creation)
Cope: to struggle or deal, especially on fairly even terms or with some degree of success
Change: ability to create (a future of choice)
Struggle: to contend with an adversary or opposing force
DORK: is a slang word for a stupid or inept person
Humans are designed to be Abundant.
I have heard literally thousands of people talk about their strategy or the idea that we will create a strategic plan.
When I ask people: “What does creating a strategic plan mean?”…..I get blank looks. It’s like they are saying to me, “You don’t know what a strategic plan is?”
Honestly, I don’t understand why so much TIME and ENERGY is spent talking about a strategic plan.
I have always been taught by my mentor (Robert Kiyosaki) that you have 1 Strategy and many Tactics.
You change TACTICS on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly basis as needed, always working towards a single STRATEGY!
Warfare is all about: Can I command the Heights?
IE: Take charge of any situation! “Where is the war?” and “What are we fighting about?” and “I’m the commander and chief. This is my Strategy”.
The Strategy will always be the absolute single controlled focus point (BIG PICTURE).
In business for “ME”, I have a simple strategy statement:
Create Intergenerational Wealth for my Family
I’m in business to create a “LIFESTYLE” for “ME” and my family whilst creating an “ASSET” that has Created Value in the business marketplace for my family’s future and for generations to come.
Wealth Defined in order of priority:
a. SPIRIT of the family and business
b. KNOWLEDGE and WISDOM passed from Generation to Generation
c. RELATIONS at all levels of physical and meta-physical
d. MONEY to maintain a quality of life
Now I can look at my Tactics in my frame work of created futures design. It is all about the choices I can make about my future. I’m not a victim of my future. I’m a creator of my futures by:
VITAL ACTION I take each day by my goals set
CLEAR OUTCOMES on a 90 days or yearly thought-out process
ARRANGEMENTS that start today and show out in material form 10 years from now
Now I will look at the TACTICS by doing: A SWOT analysis (alternatively SWOT matrix). This is a structured planning method used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a project or in a business venture. A SWOT analysis can be carried out for a product, place, industry or person. It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying the internal and external factors that are favourable and unfavourable to achieve that objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a convention at the Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.
Strengths: characteristics of the business or project that give it an advantage over others.
Weaknesses: characteristics that place the business or project at a disadvantage relative to others
Opportunities: elements that the project could exploit to its advantage
Threats: elements in the environment that could cause trouble for the business or project
From Wikipedia
All my thinking is focused to my Strategic (Strategy) ARRANGEMENT. “My Materialized FUTURE”.
I hold that there is a single STRATEGY that has Infinite TACTICS!
This lesson is dedicated to my business partner and friend Matsi.
JDS OUT.
From Wikipedia
THOUGHTS FROM JUDY:
Step-By-Step Process VS Big Picture Context
Many people ask John for a step-by-step process to achieve whatever their goals are. And for years, I have seen John resist teaching/guiding in a step 1, step 2, step 3 process. John is very good at what he does. He can do both big picture and small picture, but I think he is better and particularly good at big picture. I don’t know how John can join up seemingly unrelated dots to make sense, but he can. It takes me ages and lots of experience to see the patterns.
I think John thinks that if he opens up the context wide enough for long enough, people will work out what to do and do it. I have to say that I haven’t seen great success in this. (Maybe I just haven’t been patient enough). How do I know this? Sometimes, this path does not work well with me. And if I am more typical of many people out there, I do think that people can benefit from a step-by-step process. This then gives them (and me) the confidence to do things and then I gain more special case experiences from which to draw from in the future.
If all I have is the big picture context, when I am stressed and tired, this is all just mumbo-jumbo to me and I don’t have time for it. I only have enough time and energy to do what is required. If I can’t see what is required, then John will have to work out what is required and I will executive that. Then maybe next time I am up against that situation, I will have more experience and more special cases to draw from and I will be able to work out what needs to be done without John’s assistance.
I do see John offering more step-by-step processes/thoughts, and I am grateful for that, as I can use these. And maybe other people can too.
One of the risks with a step-by-step is that if it does not work out favourably, people sometimes then blame the step-by-step creator.
I recall a circumstance when John and I loaned a guy some money. He was to pay us back on an agreed, written and signed payment plan. Somewhere in the process, the guy fell behind on payments. I continued to follow-up to keep the guy on track with the payments. After a while of my reminding, the guy got mad with me and John and said that the fact that he was not making the payments to us was our fault as we should not have lent him the money in the first place!
How did that work out? So one of my cautions with step-by-step processes is that people must take full responsibility for the process and the outcomes, not blame others if things do not work out the way they would like.
I hear people ask John… “How do I have a business like your business?” By doing something, seeing the results, making corrections, doing another something, making corrections and so on. We have been running Hosemasters for 25 years….. It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
I just want people to do something. At least in the doing something and trying something, people will gain/collect more special case experience from which to draw from and make better educated decisions next time. Ie: Gain more experience at an organic, cellular level rather than just an academic pursuit or hearsay from others. Do things yourself, take risks and then you will have a greater bank of special cases from which to draw from in the future. Some special cases will be perceived as “bad”, so will be perceived as “good”. Either way, you will be more experienced and so more valuable to yourself and those around you.
The thing I don’t want to do is give my thoughts on things where I have had no experience or experience that I consider to not have been successful. I know lots more about how not to do things than how to do things!!
For me, I hold 2 thoughts in my mind:
1. Is what I am doing getting me closer to the future I want?
2. What can I do in this moment and each day to make a 1% improvement in our situation?
As long as I am heading in the right direction and as long as things are on the improve mode, I am doing OK. If I am veering away from my future or things are declining, I had better make some changes!
Wow… that started off as a small comment and grew to a saga!
Until my next interjection, over and out. Judy.
