“Companies today are no less worried about divulging secrets, particularly when it comes to strategy. Executives forget a strategy is more likely to fail because too few people, rather than too many, understand the company’s plans.”
Good food for thought from Christian Stadler in this Forbes article.
Full article: Secrecy Is Overrated. Particularly In Strategy Making
Here are our key takeaways:
Successful execution begins with a good understanding
“If your own people don’t understand your strategy, the prospect of rivals discovering your plans is probably not your biggest concern. They are likely to be as confused as members of your own organisation.”
Working together and coordination is important
“To pull off big new initiatives, different functions and divisions need to work together…Concerns about secrecy hardly facilitate this.”
To solve this, we need to be transparent and inclusive.
“The obvious solution to these execution challenges is a more open approach in strategy making.”
An Open Strategy approach done right removes the barriers of secrecy & misunderstanding while not risking any sensitive information or IP.
What are your thoughts on being transparent and inclusive when it comes to strategy?