For years, I chased the illusive dream of building the “best” business. I was obsessed with reading market research, obsessing over competitors, and tirelessly perfecting every nuance of my product. I thought success was a linear climb to the top of the mountain where the “best” brand proudly stood alone. But somewhere along the way, I realised I was lost in a dense forest of mediocrity.
The thing is, most businesses are playing the wrong game. We get caught up in the competitive frenzy, fighting for table scraps in an overcrowded market. We focus on incremental improvements, chasing the ever-shifting goalposts of “better”, all while neglecting the real key to lasting success: being different.
Photo by Cristofer Maximilian on Unsplash
The Strategic Hierarchy: Value First
Most importantly, reading through sources like Alex M. H. Smith’s “No Bullsh*t Strategy” has been somewhat of a revelation in that it really put a new frame on effective strategy for me. It isn’t about vanquishing your competitors; rather, it’s about creating something distinctive and valuable which nobody else has. It’s like building a business that resonates with a specific audience and fulfils a need not met by anyone else.
Smith describes what he calls the “strategic hierarchy,” which captures this notion perfectly. It starts with the identification of the unique value your business offers, its reason for being. This value then informs every other aspect of the business, from the products you create to the way you communicate your brand.
Think IKEA: its value proposition is to make fashionable ‘designer’ furniture available to the common man. The core value behind that permeates everything they do: from flat-pack furniture innovations in how to construct furniture to designing for all-inclusivity.
The Seduction of “Better”
Too many businesses get caught in the trap of “better.” They think outcompeting their competitors on today’s metrics is the way to succeed. In strategy, however, “better” is a subjective-and ultimately meaningless-concept.
As Smith says, “Only is better than best.” No matter how much you improve on existing offerings, you’re still operating within the same crowded space. To really differentiate, you need to create a new space entirely-offering something distinctly different that the market can’t find elsewhere.
Photo by Ian Schneider on Unsplash
Context Shift, Unexpected Value, and Contrarian Value
The sources offer three powerful ways to do so:
• Context Shift: This involves reframing your existing offering within a different category or context, highlighting previously hidden value. For example, a juice shot brand struggling in the crowded juice market could reposition itself in the performance drinks category, emphasising its natural, healthy ingredients.
• Unexpected Value: The former is about bringing in a value proposition that counters the conventions in an existing category. Examples are Method cleaning products, which reversed the status quo by packaging environmentally friendly cleaning products in stylishly beautiful bottles.
• Contrarian Value: It means giving up some values to create an over-the-top, memorable position for others. Example: Southwest Airlines, which did not cater to business travellers and decided to fly the common people with economical and jolly flights.
Translating Ideas into Actionable Strategies
Once you have identified a potentially good value proposition, you should take the next step of ascertaining if it is actually strategic and not just a recast goal. Smith offers several useful tools for clarifying your thoughts on the matter, including:
• Subjectivity Test: Take out all the subjective terms (“good,” “best,” “excellent”) in your strategy statement. If nothing’s left, then you don’t have a strategy.
• The “How Cascade”: Keep asking “how?” to unpack your strategy into the tangible acts required to implement it.
• The Toilet Paper Rule: Keep consumer interest levels in mind. Don’t overcomplicate strategies in low-interest categories.
Beyond the Minimum: The Creative Canvas
With a defined strategy in place, the time for execution begins. Smith insists that one shouldn’t just do the bare minimum with the viable strategy but, rather, find a way to over-deliver on the value proposition. He therefore encourages businesses to consider the whole operation a “creative canvas” and seize every opportunity to extend and strengthen their strategy through their business operations.
Think Red Bull, which built an entire media empire around its core strategy of “pushing you to achieve awesome things.” They’ve gone far beyond selling energy drinks to create a universe of experiences that bring their brand values to life.
Photo by Tim Arterbury on Unsplash
Embracing “Keep Moving to Stand Still”
The market is in continuous motion, and what was good yesterday will not work tomorrow. To stand still is to move in order to retain the strategic position. That means one needs to keep reassessment of his or her execution and adapting to changed circumstances, keeping one’s core value proposition firmly in sight.
Think Nike, for example, constantly changing its marketing and product lines over the decades but always faithful to its central strategy of being for “the struggle” and urging athletes to push themselves.
Moving Beyond the Bullsh*t
There is no need to blindly do a set formula or repeat outdated industry proverbs when designing an effective strategy. The true thing is to deeply grasp your business, your market and your offering value in the global context. It’s a matter of truthfulness to yourself, accepting your constraints, and being bold to be unusual.
These sources have equipped me with a new confidence to handle even the most complex world of business strategy. I have learned how to move beyond the noise of competition and to focus on building a business that stands for something truly unique. I am no longer striving to be the “best”; I’m on a journey to be the only. And in a world full of sameness, that is the most valuable position of all.
Buy the book No Bullsh*t Strategy by Alex Smith: https://amzn.to/3PIMVut
Previously published on Medium under the pen name ‘Design Crew’.
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