We love a good ‘strategy’ in the drinks industry. We all have one. Or do we?
Having built strategies for the better part of fifteen years across the drinks world, I often have clients send me a ‘strategy’ slide or two for a quick opinion. More often than not, each so‑called ‘strategy’ isn’t a strategy at all and about half aren’t even particularly strategic.
This morning, for example, a slide landed in my inbox titled “Optimising margins, prices, product mix to drive value.” It was beautiful: a fabulous hexagon with colour‑coded sections, gorgeous icons and a tidy to‑do list of nine items ranging from trading terms to monthly reporting. The email had just one word: “Thoughts?” I replied, “I have a few, but please don’t tell me this came to you as a ‘strategy’.”
Sadly, the answer was yes. The slide was many great things, but a strategy it was not. Slides like this appear more often than you’d think. The word ‘strategy’ is overused — ironically, often to make people sound clever. We can keep calling everything ‘strategic’, putting a strategy label on every second slide. Or, if we actually want the strategy to work (i.e., achieve business goals), there are a few basics to get right.
As a starting point, let’s remind ourselves of the origins of the word strategy. It comes from the ancient Greek word strategos —l loosely meaning to ‘lead an army through a war’ or the ‘art of the general.’ Over time, the word ‘strategy’ has evolved to encompass a broader range of applications, including business. Keeping this very basic fact in mind is a shortcut to making sure you’re on the right track.
With that context, here are the four things many people get wrong on the journey:
1. Every strategy needs a clear goal.
Why? Because having a goal is the whole point of having a strategy. Every general in a war is trying to win the war — that’s the goal. Thank goodness, we’re just building and activating strategic plans in the most fabulous industry in the world. For the most part, our goals are financial and, at the very least, numerical. Whatever your goal is, it is the hero of your strategy and the single most important part of your strategic plan that everyone in your organisation should know.
Better yet, your goal can be associated with a 'rallying cry' (yes, another military saying) that engages and excites your business. You will get there much faster.
2. Your goal is not your strategy
This one comes up everywhere. Saying things like “our strategy is to triple our business” or “our strategy is to be number one” is equivalent to a general in an army saying, “our strategy is to win the war”.
Strategy is how you plan to win the war. Another way to think about it: the goal is the destination, and the strategy is the roadmap to get there. It’s a simple difference, but many businesses — often very smart ones — still get it wrong.
3. Your ‘strategy’ might not be strategic
This one usually arrives with the best intentions. You bring in a consultant (or run an internal workshop), everyone does a great job nailing the goal, then the breakout begins: “Let’s figure out how we’ll get there.” A few hours later, teams share back, you vote on your five favourite ways to grow, they go onto the ‘house strategy’ slide and off everyone goes.
Being strategic means you have systematically considered the perhaps 500 ways your business can grow and eliminated 495 to get to your top five. It should also leverage your competitive advantage, deliver short- and long-term objectives, and have specific, detailed steps, among other things.
If you haven’t done the hard work of choosing what you will not do, you likely have a broad plan of action — just not a strategic one.
4. Your final ‘strategic plan’ should be executable and maybe even exciting
Sun Tzu (Art of War) famously said, “Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Ensuring the actionability of your final plan is a step many people skip. Or, the step is completed and the final plan stays in some PowerPoint deck, never to be looked at again. The only reason a General builds a strategy is to execute it. Too often, strategy dies at the point of execution. The test of a plan is not how it looks on paper but how it performs in the field.
Making a strategy exciting might seem strange but it is a crucial step to ensure action is taken. If people don’t feel compelled to act, the best strategy in the world will sit gathering dust.
Final thoughts
So, back to the fabulous hexagon slide that landed in my inbox this morning. A job description for the Revenue Growth Management team? Absolutely. Strategic? Perhaps a little. But a true strategy? Not quite. It skipped the four essential steps I’ve outlined.
Yes, there are plenty of other pitfalls along the way — whether it's failing to inspire the organisation or getting stuck in debating instead of acting. But if you focus on getting these four fundamentals right, you’ve already set yourself apart. More importantly, you’ve laid the foundation for a strategy that not only looks good on a slide, but actually moves people, creates momentum, and delivers business results.
4 Squared Global is a Silver Partner of the Drinks Association.
