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Make Strategic ChoicesOne of the hardest things business owners and operators do is deciding not to do something. It's the art of saying no. Particularly for a growing business, the difference between strategy and chaos is knowing when and how to say no. This is against the background of the fact that Strategy is Focus. Most growing companies want to do far more than they can effectively do. Bright managers want to seize every opportunity in sight, and all at the same time. In the real world, however, displacement is a fact of life. Everything you do in a business rules out something else that you can't do as a result. To grow your business you must focus on well-defined target markets, well-defined products and services, building competitive advantage, capitalizing on your strengths and avoiding your weaknesses. Yes, all of that seems obvious, and the best strategies are obvious. They come straight from the SWOT. They are maintained over the long term, meaning several years. Successful strategies will be copied by competitors. Better a mediocre strategy consistently applied over several years than a series of brilliant strategies pushed one after the other. All of which makes focus the key to effective growth strategies. And, furthermore, focus means exercising discipline in management, not trying to do everything.
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