Decisions - regarding strategy

 

I found it amusing, in my new executive role, to take a manager compentency test alongside another new director within our organization. It was a fund development leader versus a professional accountant. The test was definitely skewed to numbers and I was thrilled that even though I was being seen as a marketing person, I actually had ten years of financial planning under my belt. The test was timed and I completed it. When scored, the Executive Director called me in and let me know that I dismantled the accountant and all his money was on the accountant. The accountant said he had forgotten his glasses, thus the poor result. What was important is that I saw this test as a key entrance to my world of strategic thinking and bias and knew that I needed to do well to have my plans and ideas approved. The accountant did not.

For the next twelve years, the accountant and I served in our executive positions and sat at the leadership table together. I survived those years because of my strong belief and practice of data metrics. Data and metrics gave me clarity and foresight to make important decisions with the foundation being strategy.

I continued my journey in leadership and served as the Executive Director for a number of NFP organizations. Good decisions made me an effective one. I could make decisions daily about the path forward, carefully considering the needs of those who served with me. A key decision, every day, was about how to grow. The desire to grow, which I believe over 60% of all leaders want, demands strong strategic decisions to be the foundation on which to build. 

There are three categories usually involved in key decisions and for me the key was sales, marketing and customer engagement. 

The need to connect wtih customers is more critical than ever. Strategic decisions, such as the evolution of the sales function, customer coverage model and sales structure are on the agenda as growth takes place. Fresh product lines and perspectives require marketing support, new messages and training for salespeople as they call on potential customers, and how they determine their response when encountering competitiors.