Successful Strategy Requires Patience

Being around many entrepreneurs, creatives and visionaries – both in my immediate network and as agency clients – I come across people with ideas to transform an industry, solve a problem or build an iconic brand.

My focus is on developing or helping to solidify the strategy, and setting the creative direction that can be executed.

Once there’s alignment on the strategy and direction, there are countless steps to apply it. But time is also needed for it to take effect, then testing and tweaking.

Few people can stay loyal to a strategy long enough for their vision to materialize, however. (I’ve witnessed this firsthand, and know there’s sometimes a constant battle between patience and pivoting).

This is explained really well by Scott Belsky in The Messy Middle book.

“While a great strategy can be conceived quite quickly in a vacuum void of time and reality, it can be executed only over a long period of iteration, agony, and harsh reality.”

This reality is what the book refers to as the messy middle.

So what can founders, entrepreneurs, innovators do?

“To allow strategy to unfold, you need to re-factor your own expectations and measures of progress while developing a culture and structure that ensures your team has the patience to stick it out with you.”

If you’re an entrepreneur or change maker and want to discuss strategy further, feel free to setup a call here.