A wise person once said: “Nothing is constant except for change; it is the only constant we can count on.” If the statement is so true and accepted as such, why is change so difficult to deal with, anticipate, and plan for? If it’s such a certainty, then why does it always catch us off guard and upset or ruin our plans?

Recently, while on vacation (yes, a beautiful beach), one of my projects experienced a big change of plans (yes, while I was on the beach). This involved an event with a large number of clients in Canada. Fortunately, I work with a wonderful team of individuals who stepped up to the plate and made the necessary modifications to allow for a successful event, regardless of all the last minute changes.

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I would like to link my comments to what Matt Fankhauser discussed in his blog entry titled “The Strategic Business Travel” and using strategy on a daily basis. Over the years, I have read, studied, and learned a lot about strategic leadership and how great leader execute strategy for themselves, their team, and the organization. In fact, I think I have done a pretty decent job with strategic formulation and the strategic goals that I set for me or that my teams set. But when it came down to my daily tasks and responsibilities at work and at home, I caught myself saying very “un-strategic” things like: “I should have…” or “If I had thought about it I would have…” or “Why didn’t I think about…”

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I was sitting in my office the other day when I had a “snack attack” mid-afternoon. I opened my desk drawer and noticed a package of gum. I figured it might keep my mouth busy and somewhat satisfy my immediate hunger. This triggered a thought about how different manufacturers of today’s product commodities might have a lot more to it than what meets the immediate eye.

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Hey all you high volume, frequent flying, business travelers! You might want to hear this story about the ability to apply some strategic thinking principles in everyday scenarios.

I had an interesting conversation last night with an acquaintance who works in the Salt Lake City Airport as a baggage handler. I was telling him that I travel enough and I have strategically figured out when I need to leave my office or home in order to be able to get the airport and catch a flight and that I usually push it to the last minute. I am sure many of you out there have a similar approach.

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It’s that time of the year again. August, September, and October is the prime hurricane season in the Atlantic. Decade after decade, season after season, the tropical storms escalate into devastating hurricanes. The island of Bermuda in particular has had a long history of bad luck with hurricanes. From the Havana Bermuda hurricane of 1926 to Hurricane Emily of 1987, Bermuda has been a regular target of nature’s wrath.

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I read that when Thomas Edison was creating the light bulb he actually found over 1800 ways to not build one. I also have read that the discovery of radium was a mistake by Madam Curie. So I guess it begs the question, are we seeking out strategic opportunities from our mistakes or from things that go awry? I don’t particularly enjoy scrutinizing my mistakes and failures. I guess I don’t like revisiting what goes wrong because I feel guilty or that I am punishing myself. But deep down I know that there is a lot that can be learned from our mistakes and failures and often it is a signal that there is a strategic opportunity looming on the horizon. I wonder how many strategic targets I may have missed when I have just moved on from a mistake without carefully scrutinizing what could have been learned, trying a new approach, or recreating how things are done.

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Have you ever felt significantly ahead of your competition? Maybe you were headed in the right direction and thought nothing could stop you. Perhaps you were so focused on the success and control you were enjoying, only to be crushed by the competition unexpectedly.

The Example

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A great and inspiring story emerged from the world of sports yesterday. Former Major League Pitcher Rick Ankiel made his major league debut with his old team, the St. Louis Cardinals, as an outfielder. In 1998, Ankiel signed with the Cardinals right out of High School and was promptly rewarded with a 2.5 million dollar signing bonus. Ankiel was named Minor League Baseball Player of the Year in 1999 and some scouts considered him one of the greatest pitching prospects ever. He finished second in the voting for National League Rookie of the Year. Ankiel pitched for the Cardinals from 1999 to 2001. He was second in the league in strike outs per nine innings and hits allowed per nine innings.

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Overwhelmed
As I drove to the office last month, I remember thinking about the long list of items on my to-do list for that day. I have to admit, I felt a little overwhelmed. Time management had never been an issue for me, but it didn’t seem like that was enough. I was meticulously planning out my days, keeping to the plan, but still not accomplishing everything before the end of business hours. With my upcoming events, product launches, and the needs of my clients, overwhelmed seems to be an understatement as I wondered if this is the cause of road rage.

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Many people are intimidated by the word “strategy.” Although its meaning is similar to the words plan, method, approach, procedure, and system, it evokes different thoughts and feelings. Often, when people hear the word strategy they think that it sounds more difficult, require extensive knowledge and expertise, and is only used by business executives. What we would like others to understand is that strategy can be relatively simple. The only requirements are true desire and effort. So for those of you who were feeling intimidated by the word strategy, we would like you to believe that if you want to think and be more strategically, you can!

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