One problem that plagues nearly every business on the planet is how to strike the right balance of strategy and operations to drive the progress of the company. Big businesses, small companies, entrepreneurs, everyone grapples with this challenge.
Some businesses (usually smaller businesses) get mired in the daily details and never see the big picture. Other companies (usually bigger businesses) spend so much time on strategy that they neglect day-to-day operations.
When the operations are neglected, cash flow becomes a problem, customer and employee fires pop up left and right and the joy of running a business is lost. On the other hand, when the strategy is neglected, the company hits a ceiling, the purpose of the business is empty and the treadmill starts to wear us down.
I loved my strategy classes in college and business school, ten to 15 years ago. But when I got into the real world of entrepreneurship, I realized that operational execution is king. So, for the first couple years of this business, we focused on operating (also known as “keeping the lights on”), but our strategy was sorely lacking. We were struggling, big time. Turns out, focusing on operations only gets you so far.
And then a friend introduced me to a strategy and operational planning methodology that ignited the vision for our business. I learned the methodology from a guy named Tyler Norton, who was serving with me on the board of directors at the Never Again Foundation, a great non-profit organization that provides legal help to abused women and children. Tyler learned the methodology from his dad, who had been CEO of a couple Fortune 500 companies. Tyler and I applied the methodology to the planning process at the Never Again Foundation and in so doing, I learned how to apply it to Infusionsoft.
I had to adapt the methodology to fit our four-person shop. Over time, I have added principles from Michael Gerber, Jim Collins and Verne Harnish, as well as ideas from my team members. The result is what we have today is a rock-solid strategy and operational planning methodology that is an incredible strength of our business.
I have found that when the strategy and operational planning method is solid, the business soars, the future is exciting and the present challenges are invigorating. I really believe this skill set is something every entrepreneur needs to master to achieve great success.
If you’ve struggled with this problem, if you have thoughts on what works for you or if you’d like me to share some of our experience with the methodology, leave me a comment below. I’d love to hear from you along the way. (Now that I think of it, I will share some of the great stuff, from an organization, we have at Infusionsoft with you.)
–Clate
Love this post! Please do write more about how YOU found the balance.
Flywheel
“Your Catalyst to Success!”
Clate,
I’ve seen bits and pieces of this methodology.
I’d love to see it all. I’m involved in a start up right now that could really use a solid base for finding this balance.
If you could post details, or email me whatever you’ve got that would be amazing.
See you at InfusionCon in a couple of weeks!
thanks
Nick
[...] long ago, I posted about the need every business has to effectively blend strategy and operations. I’ve included the basic [...]
Clate,
We just joined infusionsoft. We are currently e-myth students in their Mastery Impact course but I eager to learning anything about management and what works. We are just heading into the People Strategy and Systems Strategy track and after reading your post “Inside Infusionsoft’s Strategy and Operations” and watching the youtube video about your company with a glimpse of your planning and tracking on the walls, I’m very interested to get some more detail (and pictures!) of what the planning really looks like on your walls and how everyone in the company interacts with it. Keep the posts coming.
Thanks,
Brett