Choosing not to have a strategy IS a strategy…it’s just not a good one

 “It’s only for 30 minutes,” I’d reassure my youngest as he’d stand in the doorway of his before-school program surveying the mob of 1st and 2nd graders bouncing off the walls of a very small room.  That’s when I’d notice his way-too-long sleeve - the sweatshirt was obviously his brother’s.  “Shoot,” I’d think, “why didn’t I see that before we left the house?”

Once he was safely stashed, I’d hop back into my car, hit the highway, cross the bridge and pull into the parking garage of the Fortune 500 I worked for at the time.  And as I’d gather up my things and push my way into the building, I can remember saying to myself (on more than one occasion), “Who’s my daddy going to be today?”

At the time, marketing primarily provided sales support.  Dozens of sales teams (regional, business unit, key account, corporate) relied on us to produce sales materials, presentations and line sheets. Every day, we’d survey our mob of reps vying for attention and did our best to deliver on their frequently last minute (but always high priority!) requests. As a result, we were often reactive and tactical.

Despite the great work marketing could and would do, the complexity of the organization, lack of feedback loops and misaligned business unit goals made it difficult for us to know if we were providing the right support in the right places and quantify the value we delivered.  It was frustrating and unsatisfying and as a result, we struggled to keep high performers and top talent who wanted to make a real difference and drive tangible results. 

Years later, I was reminded of this dynamic when I came across this fascinating article by Roger Martin, author of Playing To Win - How Strategy Really Works, which captures how inefficient – and ineffective – it can be when functional teams aren’t explicit about their role in supporting the organization’s strategic priorities. 

In other words…when the function doesn’t have a strategy. 

I’m not talking about business or corporate strategy.  I’m talking about the strategic choices that guide what activities the function will (and will not) do to support their organizational strategy and position the firm to win.

According to Martin, if a functional team doesn’t consciously adopt a strategy, it’ll default to one of two unconscious cultural models.  Both “strategies” will block – or worst case, undermine – the behaviors and performance critical for B2B success. 

Do whatever they ask you to do

The first unconscious model is to do anything your internal stakeholders want or, the servile strategy.  In our case, sales was our key stakeholder and in all fairness, this isn’t uncommon in commercially-driven B2B organizations.  Sales drives revenue.  Revenue creates shareholder value.  Sales is king.   

And all those words make sense, but if functions choose not to choose what they will be, the default is…to be all things to all people. But what you end up with is an overworked function that doesn’t serve anyone very well.  The do-whatever-you’re-asked-to-do strategy also makes it difficult for functional leads to 1) draw a direct line from their team’s work to business results, 2) garner influence and 3) access resources.  This is a horrible place to be and certainly not a model that fosters creative thinking, smart risk and innovation – or attracts the people you’ll need to do those things well. 

Do whatever you want to do

The other subconscious strategy is the imperial strategy, where the functional leader prioritizes the team’s work with relatively little attention paid to how it aligns with the needs of the businesses or the overall strategy of the organization.

I’m currently working with a client to unwind the deep-seated bias of this cultural model…and it’s not easy. Their former CMO built out a very large, very complicated marketing function with amazing talent – but with (very close to) zero alignment with its business units.  Because the focus has not been on serving its stakeholders, marketing hasn’t prioritized communication or engagement with its internal customers and effectively operates in a vacuum.  Sales reps don’t know when or how to engage to get the support they need but are restricted from getting their needs met in other ways (i.e. outsourcing, building divisional capabilities).  As a result, business units push back on the large marketing allocation levied on their divisions and at the end of the year, there is LOTS of finger-pointing when the company’s goals aren’t made.  This makes for a highly dysfunctional organization which given how competitive and fast moving the environment is today…is obviously not where they want to be.

Threading the needle

As with most things, there’s beauty in balance.  I recently had a conversation with the founder of a fast growing, small business which is making sizable investments in marketing to better position the firm for growth.  The founder’s vision is clear – to build a well-oiled, highly effective sales and marketing machine that’s efficient and drives results for the business…and they’re starting with strategy.  When functional teams are deliberate and overt about defining their strategic role within an organization, all other decisions are easy – what they’re accountable for, how to prioritize, how the functions will partner and where to allocate resources.

I hear you…this is a top down directive and the organization is smaller (and less complex) than the examples above – which undoubtedly makes this undertaking easier.  It doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges, but early-on integration of sales and marketing and the recognition that sometimes marketing supports sales - and sometimes sales supports marketing - fosters focus, trust and speed.   

So how can large, complex organizations channel their inner small business to make this work?

01 Co-create your strategy & action plan:

Whether you’re building from scratch or working with existing teams, successful sales and marketing partnerships are just that – partnerships.  As such, effective strategy development requires a collaborative effort.  If your organization is highly complex, your marketing team might need an overarching strategy we well as nuanced strategies for each stakeholder group but ALL strategies should ladder up to your organization’s strategic priorities and goals.  This operational approach will likely require a cultural pivot so leadership buy-in and a commitment to model (and reward) the desired culture will be critical. 

02 Publish a playbook:  

All stakeholders groups need to understand the rules of engagement.  Make it clear and easy to consume – a visual articulation of the sales and marketing partnership you aspire to create and how it aligns with your existing sales process can be incredibly effective.  Your playbook should map out clear roles and responsibilities, who’s supporting, who’s being supported, who’s the lead dog, where the hand-offs are and what they should look like.  Keep it simple, make sure all parties are aligned and consider your playbook evergreen.

03 Adjust as needed:  

The vision for your organization isn’t likely to change significantly but given the fluidity of the market and how often it’s disrupted, where you need to play and how you’re going to win may need adjustments.  Check in with your stakeholders on a regular basis to ensure your team is providing the support they need to be successful – your company/industry environment will dictate how often that’s needed.

And NEVER forget…your team is only as good as your worst manager.  Putting the right leaders in place to nurture a culture that fosters collaboration, integrative thinking and creativity will attract and keep the talent you’ll need to win in today’s hyper-competitive environment.

These are our sweet spots at Sticks & Mud.  We advise, coach and empower your sales and marketing teams to target the right customers, with the right solutions, in the right way to create advantage and win (and have a great time doing it).