Note: Following is an excerpt from my most recent book, STRATEGIC.
To navigate is to direct or manage something on its course; in other words, to control the movement from one place to another. To navigate means to determine one’s position and direction and make a way over or through. Historically, the field of navigation is most prominent in air, sea, and space as the primary skill in successfully guiding planes, ships, and rockets to their intended destinations. More recently, the term navigate has been used in an array of contextual landscapes including politics, relationships, ecosystems, and business.
Today, research published by the International Maritime Organization indicates that “human error contributes to 80% of navigational accidents and that in many cases essential information that could have prevented the accident was available to but not used by those responsible for the navigation of the vessels concerned.”The business corollary of this issue is exemplified in a 10-year study of 103 companies reported in the publication strategy + business that showed strategic blunders—the inability to navigate an organization’s course—were the cause of the greatest loss of shareholder value a whopping 81 percent of the time.
Whether you are navigating a vehicle or a business, it’s imperative that you’re able to effectively determine your current position and then set direction. A study of 250,000 executives by McKinsey & Co. showed that setting strategic direction is the most important role of a leader and the number one factor that improved organizational health. Despite the importance of leaders’ ability to set direction, research by Gallup over the past 30 years with more than 10 million managers found only 22 percent of employees strongly agreed that the leaders of their organization have set clear direction for the business.
During my strategic executive coaching work the past 25 years, the issue of how to best navigate the business has become a recurring theme for many highly effective leaders, as the following direct quotations I’ve heard demonstrate:
“One issue I’m wrestling with is how best to navigate that with the team.”
“There are just some things that I don’t know how to, I don’t know how to navigate them.”
“That’s what I want healthcare to be like. That’s what my family wants. Yes, it’s fragmented. It’s confusing to know how to navigate it, and how are we going to solve that?”
“As our market becomes even more competitive with nontraditional players entering, I’m just trying to constructively navigate.”
When Disney brought back Bob Iger for his second stint as CEO, his return was described in the Wall Street Journal with the following: “Walt Disney Co. has brought back the CEO responsible for its pivot to streaming. As he returns, Robert Iger has to navigate a competitive landscape that is far more challenging than when he left less than three years ago.”
The essential meta-skill of a leader is to navigate their business with a thorough understanding of their current situation, vision to see the future destination, and the ability to create the path to reach it. When you have the knowledge, tools, and skills to navigate your business, it produces both competence and confidence. How then do you acquire, maintain, and grow the ability to successfully navigate your business, moving from your current position, over and through obstacles, to reach your goals?
It requires you to be strategic.
Being Strategic
Merriam-Webster dictionary’s primary definition of the term “strategic” is: “of, relating to, or marked by strategy.” Since that’s about as helpful as an umbrella in a hurricane, I’d like to share my definition:
Strategic: Possessing insight that leads to advantage.
We can break this definition of strategic down into its’ two core elements: insight and advantage. An insight is when you combine two or more pieces of information or data in a unique way to come up with a new approach, new offering, or new solution that moves the business forward. Simply put, an insight is a learning that leads to new value. Advantage is inherently an element of strategy. It commonly refers to a desired end in the form of gain, profit, benefit, or position of superiority.
When we use this definition of strategic, it helps us clarify what is and is not strategic. A person, or plan can be strategic because both have the potential to possess insight that leads to advantage. The word strategic is plastered in front of a lot of other words to make them sound important, but their meanings don’t hold up. Phrases such as “strategic objective” or “strategic imperative” are examples of terms that sound proper but don’t pass the test of being able to house and leverage learnings. Eliminate the overuse of the term “strategic” and you’ll clarify and simplify communication amongst your team.
Here’s something you’ll never hear in business: “Let’s promote her to a senior leadership role…she’s highly tactical.” One of the greatest compliments a person can receive is to be referred to as “strategic.” A survey published by Robert Kabacoff of 10,000 senior executives asked them to select the leadership behaviors most critical to their organization’s future success and they chose “strategic” 97 percent of the time. Further research with 60,000 managers and executives “…found that a strategic approach to leadership was, on average, 10 times more important to the perception of effectiveness than other behaviors studied. It was twice as important as communication (the second most important behavior) and almost 50 times more important than hands-on tactical behaviors.”
Business leaders, academicians, and boards of directors echo these findings:
“To me, the single most important skill needed for any CEO today is strategic acuity.” Indra Nooyi, former CEO, Pepsi.
“After two decades of observation, it is clear that mastery of strategy is not an innate skill. Most great CEOs learn how to become better strategic thinkers.” David Yoffie, professor, Harvard Business School and Michael Cusumano professor, MIT Sloan School of Management.
“The #1 trait of active CEOs that make them attractive board candidates is strategic expertise.” Corporate Board of Directors Survey
The No. 1 capability boards are looking for in a CEO: Strategic capability. Cathy Anterasian, Senior Partner, Spencer Stuart.22
As the research and thought leaders demonstrate, the importance of being strategic is universal. After all, who doesn’t want to be seen as providing new value that leads to benefits, gains, or profits for their organization?
Consider the following questions on a scale of 1-10 with 1 low and 10 high as you guide your business:
1. How clear is our organization’s strategic direction?
2. How confident are we that our strategy will create long-term competitive advantage?
3. How much training and development has our leadership team received to be strategic?
The popular idiom “Any port in a storm” isn’t a strategy. Ensure your team is prepared to set strategic direction so that your business is navigating the waves, not being swamped by them.