Monday, February 11, 2008

Strategic Planning - strategic competency and obsession

Today I had a strategic planning meeting with a long-time client that started out in the business of selling tax forms - Greatland Corporation. I say they started out this way because today they offer numerous products and services, including software and online services, to support compliance with government regulations, mostly in the area of wage and income reporting. While their decision, years ago, to pursue other products made sense from a technological perspective, what really made it work was their obsession with compliance. Today we are looking at ways they can extend this obsession into other products and services, which makes me think this quite possibly a useful strategic competency.

In reflecting on this, it is clear to me that great strategic competencies almost always arise from obsession about something that is valuable to your customers. What are you obsessed about? Next time you do strategic planning, ask your team about what they think your company's obsession is - you might find the answers useful.

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