Leadership teams have been drilled to believe that faster is better. Consider, decide, move. Quickly. The best time to solve anything was yesterday. That, in itself, assumes that the best answer is already available. However, speed is only an advantage if it’s applied at the right moment to the right effect. It’s easy to misjudge strategic tempo, and to find your action or reaction out of sync with how the change itself is developing.
This manifests in a range of ways:
- Companies launch something pre-emptively, but it is too early and the market is not ready and therefore not receptive
- They respond too late to a set of circumstances and find themselves confined within the parameters that others have already set
- They absorb the change internally and look to address it, but lose awareness of what is needed, by when and where in order to be effective
- They look to get ahead of the curve but find themselves stranded when the situation itself develops or changes course.
Different ways to respond
Judging the optimal time to address and tackle an issue is more important than doing it anyway and ticking it off as completed. Judging strategic tempo is all about knowing when to act, when to wait and what conditions need to be in place before you commit. We call this “condusivity” – the point at which you know the market is most ready for your response.
While being first to market might bring headlines and bragging rights, there can be merit in gauging response, bugs, adaptability and more. But, as Apple have proven time and again, if you do decide to enter an establishing market later, come with a bang not a copy. Use the time you have taken to absorb insights, add value and redefine the category in your favour.
Paced innovation is another example of responding to change. Meet the change. Assess the change. Navigate the change. Re-set your relationship with the market, investors and customers through your drip-fed response to the change.
Too fast is just as dangerous as too slow
Here’s a lovely set of thoughts on strategic tempo from JP Castlin:
“Most firms do not fail because they are too slow; they fail because they are moving at the wrong tempo relative to the pace and type of change around them. [But] in strategy, rushing can be just as dangerous as dragging; it may create churn, false urgency, exposure, and costly catch-up … the longer the gap between change, understanding, decision, and action, the greater the strategic risk.”
Warning signs
Moving too early will cost you educating the market and the risk of false start. Acting too late may mean the best position in an emerging market has already been claimed and you are boxed in or out of a leadership opportunity.
But it’s not just about timing. If your strategic tempo is off, it’s usually a sign that other aspects of your strategy need review and adjustment.
- If you find you’re launching too early, that’s a good sign that you need to better understand the context in which you operate
- If you find you’re late to a market change, your strategy is not attuned to the pace of the market
- If you are oscillating between waiting too long and not waiting long enough, you need to examine your decision tree.
4 questions that should drive your strategic tempo
- Change: Why has this got our attention?
- Understanding: Do we understand what it is, where it could lead and what that might mean?
- Decision: Do we agree what we require to make decisions now and moving forward?
- Action: Are we acting because we’ve decided, or because we feel pressure to act?
Define your Confident Future
Being confident about your future prepares you well for how to act. It means you are making the above decisions, already knowing:
- Where you will compete (so you’re not reacting to everything, everywhere)
- What you mean (so your moves are in keeping with how you define the business)
- How you will grow (so decisions align with wider plans, capacity, resources and opportunities)
Without that backbone, the default strategic tempo is almost certain to be blind urgency motivated by FOMO.
Right now, every leader is facing pressure, disruption and shift across their spheres of influence. Defining your Confident Future provides a clear perspective for how you can best act and respond, and at the right pace, so that you are ready.
If things have already changed and you are already under pressure to make big decisions, please contact us to discuss your strategic position.
Once your tempo is aligned with your intent, the next challenge is locking in the attitudes and behaviours your people need to keep pace via a Principled Culture.