Strategy & Leadership

In this article, I’m going to cover the twin skills of strategy and leadership.

When we go into business, no one ever teaches us how to be an effective business owner. As a result, a significant percentage of small businesses – about 11-12% fail every year with less than 50% surviving more than 5 years.

Most businesses are started by what I like to call passionate technical specialists. They have something they are good at or love doing, so they start a business around that skill or passion.

But being a successful business owner requires you to be a competent generalist. Not just a technical specialist.

You have to have a wide range of skills. In fact, there are eight categories of skill you need and the first area we’ll cover is strategy and leadership.

Strategy is HOW you get to your goals, and leadership is the skill you need to explain to

your team WHY you are heading towards those goals.

Of course as part of this equation you also have to have set some specific, measurable and achievable goals for your business, which is a critical part to framing what strategies you need to get there.

Every business owner needs a toolkit of strategic tools, and needs to understand what it takes to be an inspiring and effective leader.

Here's three things you should do:

1. Set goals and aspirations and put in place strategic plans on How to get there.

2. Make sure people working with you know their role and WHY they should follow you on the journey to your goals.

3. Keep them informed along the way as to progress and their contribution

With these two areas - Leadership and Strategy - under your control, you’ll be well on the

way to success.