When it comes to strategic planning History is Bunk, – Focal Point Business Coaching Blanchardstown
The definition of myopia is lack of imagination foresight, or intellectual insight. How many companies do you know are suffering from myopia? Why is this?
The great Henry Ford coined the “History is Bunk” phrase and while reading the brilliant book by Napoleon Hill “Think and Grow Rich”, I was reminded of Ford’s saying.
The resonance for me was instant. This applies to business history as much as it does all other history. Particularly in the area of strategic planning for business.
Most decisions about the future are based on the past. But what if your business history is bunk?
If you need to increase sales, increase profits, attract new customers and improve your marketing do you look at your trading history, or is this now irrelevant?
Do your team suffer from myopia? and show no foresight, or intellectual insight?
This is tough stuff. They are very hard questions indeed. To be honest I was guilty in the past of this in that I ignored the future, in the pursuit of the operational focus that yields results this week and next. Over time I realised that without a strategic framework for the future I was literally just sleep walking in to the unknown.
But when you start to think strategically it is hard. Your immediate frame of reference is the past, your history. But sometimes your experience is insufficient to enable to grapple with the new challenges you need to face.
Some of you will know I was involved in building a business sector from a start up position., into a €20m business in 5 years. The key lesson for me from this experience in the beginning was that we had no frame of reference. No history.
I entered the business with no industry experience, no industry knowledge and no training about the industry.
Theoretically this is a huge handicap. However I also entered with no constraints as I couldn’t see didn’t know “how things were done around here”. I had no history and therefore no preconceptions.
When we went through our strategic planning process we simply began with a bold vision, developed a really powerful mission and remained unbelievably flexible.
Speed of thought and speed of execution became our real advantage as we saw opportunities that others didn’t and simply reacted quicker than others.
We saw opportunity where others only saw problems. We were better for it.
It has always baffled me to be honest when companies only hire based on industry experience. I believe that they are sometimes wasting a valuable opportunity to bring in new ideas, systems and thinking and a challenge to the status quo.
Don’t get me wrong I certainly don’t undervalue experience. It is a phenomenal asset. But we never get to the future through the past. The past is predictable the future is anything but.
So I would contend that Henry Ford is definitely right in the context of strategic planning. Our trading history is only valid to a point. In order to be in a position to think strategically about the future we have to let go of our mostly cherised beliefs and assumptions.
Action Points
Ask yourself these three questions.
1) Is your industry unrecognisable from that of 10 years ago?
2) Did you see then what has transpired now?
3) Did you have any form of strategic plan in place and if so how prescient was it?
If the answer to question 1 was yes, don’t you think the next 10 years will be at least as volatile and changeable.
Don’t be a prisoner of the past. Start today and write down your thoughts on where the future of your industry may lead.
Involve all of your staff and management. Don’t question the answers just seek some views.
Once you have these, dig a little deeper in to them.
Identify the main skill or competence you may need to acquire or develop to ensure you meet the future competitively.
Best of luck.
Ronan
www.ronankilroy.ie
