Change is the only constant and rigid long-term plans have become obsolete.
To survive and prosper, organizations must prioritize flexibility, continuous learning with actors at the center, permanent capture of insights, always with a clear purpose as a strategic compass.
The strategy is not a static document resulting from months of planning, it is a dynamic process.
The Strategic Plan is Not Strategy
Most companies, even large multinationals, make the mistake of confusing their annual strategic plan with defining the company's strategy.
As Roger Martin explains, the annual strategic plan aims to control, measure performance and assign resources. In the process, each area leader lists "key" initiatives, often inconsistent with each other and not integrated into an overall strategy to win in the market.
The strategic plan focuses on what we control, what is in our power to do.
Martin defines strategy instead, in a powerful way:
"Strategy is an integrated series of choices that positions an organization on a playing field of its choosing, such that it can win."
The strategy is then a theory of how we will win, taking into account hypotheses about the behavior and reactions of consumers, clients and other actors towards our decisions on the chosen playing field.
When defining the strategy, we do not control the result or the behavior of these actors. Therefore, any deviation in behavior from our hypotheses requires us to adapt or reformulate the strategy.
If we don't feel "strategy anxiety" (the uncertainty that it won't work), we aren't doing strategy.
The Purpose As North
Purpose is not just an inspiring statement; It is the north that guides every strategic decision. Successful companies understand why and why they do what they do. What are they trying to maximize?
Taking Jim Collins for example:
Central purpose (core purpose): The reason for being of the organization, which is constant and transcends specific products or services.
Core values: The fundamental and enduring principles that guide an organization.
Ambitious Goals (BHAGs - Big Hairy Audacious Goals): Challenging, long-term goals that inspire and guide strategic effort.
A strong connection between purpose and organizational culture reinforces consistent implementation of plans. If values ??and objectives are aligned, the team acts cohesively, which facilitates strategic execution.
Jim Collins complements this with the Hedgehog Concept: great companies excel at identifying the intersection between what they do better than anyone else, what they are passionate about, and what generates sustainable results.
Less Is More: Deciding What Not to Do
Michael Porter explains it clearly: the basis of strategy is activities and the main thing in strategy is to define what not to do. This not only frees up resources, but also allows you to focus on high-impact activities.
As a consultant to SMEs and multinationals in Strategy, Innovation, Business Transformation and Entrepreneurship, I find the same thing over and over again.
Before aiming to grow with new ambitious projects, we must analyze where we stand today. Which business units are profitable? which ones grow? What importance or role do they have for the organization? How do the different products work? what is your mix? The customer mix per unit? Are they all profitable?
Facing the brutal facts is essential, as Jim Collins says. I insist that the biggest Quick Win for an organization is to stop doing everything that doesn't make sense.
1 usd more in billing gives us the net margin (15% 20% 30%). 1 usd less expense impacts 1 usd on the net margin (100%).
In 2025, success will not be a matter of doing more, but of doing the right thing with excellence. This includes simplifying plans and prioritizing activities that directly impact results, eliminating those that consume resources without adding significant value.
The Customer and Insights at the Center
Active listening and co-creation with business actors (stakeholders) are fundamental pillars of the Scalabl® methodology. Tools like Problem-Solution Interviews and Clayton Christensen's Jobs to Be Done framework help you understand real customer needs and design solutions that resonate deeply.
It is not just about satisfying needs, but about continuously iterating and adjusting based on the insights received. The key is to establish strategic feedback loops, integrating the voice of the customer into each adjustment to the plan. This approach ensures that every decision is anchored in market reality.
Fundamental insights come from business actors and capturing them proactively and constantly is the basis for adapting our strategy flexibly.
Antifragility as a Strategic Philosophy
Inspired by Nassim Taleb, Scalabl® proposes an antifragile approach: not only resist shocks, but thrive thanks to them. For that we combine, in a Barbell as Taleb proposes:
A virtuous Scalabl® foundation model (light on risks, with good margins, funded by the client) that accumulates cash and brings the result today (explode).
With:
Continuous experimentation, using listening, experimentation, testing, applying the Scalabl® methodology to learn quickly and adjust direction without losing purpose, exposing ourselves to white swans (explore).
We thus include optionality in how we handle ourselves.
Ambidextricity (exploit and explore) allows the organization to benefit from unexpected opportunities without incurring unnecessary risks.
A great contribution to this is the following approach:
The Four Zones: Designing the Future Without Losing the Present
Geoffrey Moore's "Zone to Win" framework divides business strategy into four zones that allow innovation and operation to be managed simultaneously:
Performance Zone: Focuses on maximizing revenue and profitability of current units. Here, the focus is on optimizing the operations of the core business, ensuring its efficiency and ability to generate cash flow.
Productivity Zone: Acts as the support system for the performance zone, seeking to reduce costs, simplify processes and improve operational efficiency. Here, emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and automation are key to freeing up resources.
Incubation Zone: It is the organization's laboratory, where disruptive ideas are developed and tested in controlled environments. Using agile methodologies such as Scalabl® and continuous experimentation, this area allows you to quickly iterate and adjust proposals before large investments.
Transformation Zone: Here successful innovations from the incubation zone are scaled, turning them into new business units that can redefine the business core. The key is to integrate these innovations without compromising the stability of the core business.
This model facilitates a clear balance between stability and disruption, ensuring that resources are aligned with strategic priorities at each stage.
Learn to Lead in 2025
The future will not be conquered by those who try to predict it accurately, but by those who embrace agility, continuous learning and active listening as part of their strategic DNA.
Organizations that thrive will be those that, keeping their purpose as a beacon, are able to flexibly adjust their decisions, focus on high-impact activities, and respond creatively to change. Learning organizations capable of applying what is learned based on contextual and actor opportunities, without being limited to an industry or vertical.
The key is not to rigidly plan long-term and anticipate all scenarios, but to adopt continuous planning within the framework of new methodologies: listening, experimenting, learning and moving forward.
Francisco Santolo
I would love to accompany you in this transformation process. Shall we talk?
