Strategy that Deeply Matters

If done right, strategy matters deeply. If done right. And that’s where the problem starts and why we see so much failure, apathy and skepticism in strategy. Because, too often, strategy isn’t done right. Time for some reflection and an alternative, soulful approach to strategy. 

As outlined in my first Soulful Strategy newsletter, Soulful Strategy is strategy that “goes beyond growth, profit, or shareholder value. It stands for strategy with purpose, strategy that makes a difference and that is meaningful to people and our planet.”

We can unravel this into three distinct ways in which Soulful Strategy matters: to the organization, to its people, and to the world at large.

Strategy that Matters to the Organization

Strategy that truly matters to an organization is strategy that has an impact on that organization. It is strategy that touches and deeply intervenes in an organization’s foundations. This goes beyond defining growth objectives, new product-market combinations, or updated revenue models. 

Strategy that matters implies true change. Not just spreadsheet and org chart change, but change in culture, mindset, behaviors, relations and belief systems. And not just at the top, but across all levels and functions in the organization so that it touches everyone. 

In fact, most strategy has these characteristics. At least implicitly. Almost by definition, strategy affects an organization’s fundamentals—otherwise we tend to not even call it strategy anymore, but tactical or operational. So, strategy must matter in order to deserve to be called strategy. 

The problem, though, is that the traditional approach to strategy does not acknowledge the deeper levels of change associated with it. It remains at the surface, at the level of plans, spreadsheets and action plans without sufficiently taking into account the underlying, foundational shifts implied. 

This means that if we want strategy that deeply matters, our approach to strategy should include these deeper levels of change. 

Strategy that Matters to People

An organization is its people. Without people, nothing happens and no organization would exist. This means that an organization’s strategy should also matter deeply to the people working there. 

We’ve seen this going wrong, the “Great Attrition” being the best example. There’s a point where employees draw the line when it concerns how they are treated, what they are asked to do, and how much their intrinsic motivation is triggered. 

Strategy done well is strategy that truly matters to people, strategy that they care about and that moves and aligns with their personal value systems and beliefs. It touches their hearts, not just their job or bank account. 

People like to make a difference and be part of something bigger. They also like to work together with people they have a strong and caring relationship with. And they like to grow, not just perform.

All strategy affects people’s motivation, sense of relevance, emotions and relations. Like with the previous point, though, the problem with the traditional approach to strategy is that it barely acknowledges this. It tends to focus on enforcing strategy upon people, hopes to create “buy in” and aims to break resistance when this doesn’t happen soon enough.

This means that, to make strategy deeply matter to people, we need to involve them in our approach to strategy and take their needs, aspirations, hopes and fears seriously from the beginning. 

Strategy that Matters to the World

Strategy only deeply matters if its meaning goes beyond the organization and people involved. If we’re doing it just for ourselves, it may feel great for a while, but it will erode quickly into something dull and meaningless. Therefore, in order to make strategy truly matter, it also needs to make a difference to the world around us. 

Call it impact, relevance, or contribution, there’s a giver in all of us. People don’t just want to take and keep. They want to give as well. The act of giving makes us feel happy, especially if we see how it helps others. It boosts morale and makes us feel needed. 

All strategy has impact far beyond the organization and its people. Also with respect to this third aspect of strategy that matters, the issue is that this is not sufficiently acknowledged in the traditional approach to strategy. Based on the self-serving “homo economicus,” it ignores this fundamental aspect of what makes us human. 

We all have a conscience that serves as our moral compass. Deep inside, we know what’s right and wrong and we care about that. Traditional strategy has quite effectively eliminated that part of us from strategy, favoring what is financially and functionally correct. 

This means that, to make strategy truly matter again, we need to include the moral side of what we do, as well as our impact on the world around us.   

A Strategy Approach that Deeply Matters

In the above, threefold explanation of strategy that matters, the rudiments of a soulful approach to strategy appear. What we see is a deeply human-centered, caring approach to strategy. 

More than anything else, we see an approach to strategy as collaborative meaning-making. Collaborative as in truly made together with the relevant stakeholders within and around the organization. Meaning-making, not just in its cognitive sense, but also in its emotional and moral sense:

• Cognitive, focusing on creating a shared understanding
• Emotional, focusing on touching and aligning how we feel
• Moral, focusing on our conscience and doing the morally right

How to achieve this in detail goes beyond the scope of what I can cover in this single article, and I gladly refer to what I’ve written and will write elsewhere. However, what stands out is that only by paying attention to our cognitive, emotional, and moral side, we can start to create strategy that is truly meaningful to an organization, its people and the world around us.

For Further Reading

• Why Culture Eats Strategy for Breakfast is Wrong
• From industry 4.0 to Industry 5.0
• Systems Thinking In Strategy Design & Implementation
• The ROI of Purpose
• Shareholders vs. Stakeholders