We all know someone who never lets the truth get in the way of a good story. Many of us have elected those people into national office.
But look inside a strategy session, and you’ll see grown women and men not letting reality interfere with their strategic goal. Why let the truth get in the way of a good objective?
Don’t get me wrong – ambition for the right thing is laudable. But if we’re “planning” what we’ll get done this year, it needs some form of grounding in reality, or in a plausible journey of how to get there.
Often, though, I see strategies being formulated where everyone in the room is plainly kidding themselves. Some think that just *wanting* reality to be different is enough. Others know that it’s impossible the way things are, but don’t want to spoil the moment.
So we have plans made that depend on fantasy.
That our team will suddenly have new knowledge or do things differently just because our strategy says so.
That there’s suddenly going to be more time because our strategy says so.
That our conversion rates will double because that’s what our strategy needs.
But signing up for something we plainly know can’t be done is just kidding ourselves. And leadership teams do it repeatedly.
Looking at a cultural shift without changing their own behaviours.
Becoming a people-centric company without creating more time to spend with the team.
Adding just those 2 more service offerings without training anyone up in them.
We either need to shift the status quo, or ditch the objective.
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