I have become a fan of blogger and marketer Greg Satell and his Digital Tonto musings. In a recent post, Greg addressed head-on the value of a strategic philosophy as opposed to an ideology.
And as he dug deeper, this thought jumped off the screen:
The Myth of “Great Strategy and Poor Execution”
A popular excuse for failure is that “we had a great strategy but fell down on execution.” That’s not possible. Good strategy takes capabilities into account, so if you couldn’t execute then you had a bad strategy to begin with it.
How often does this describe what we endure every day in a changing radio business where resources are fewer, staffing is thinner, and those who are charged with getting a job done are pulled in so many directions that they cannot hope to succeed?
Far from suggesting that it’s management’s fault, the many compromises that radio brands have had to endure at both established and fledgling brands have taken their toll. An acceptance of mediocrity, coupled with a lack of resources to get the job done, add up to strategic failure.
Too often, broadcasters spend the money to research a problem and identify a “format hole,” only to see the whole enterprise fail on many different levels. Perhaps the station had an initial ratings burst, but no marketing follow-through and no second act.
Or after a couple of good books/months, sales was simply unable to cash in on the station’s ratings success.
Or just bad execution because a programmer was overseeing several stations.
You name it – and it is happening in 2012 radio in markets big and small. And yet, from the corner office, there is often a sense of frustration about why seemingly good plans fail. But if you’re thinking these are simply execution screw-ups, as Satell accurately points out, they speak to larger strategic flaws that were there all along.
A great strategy is more than a collection of songs and a positioning statement.
A great strategy requires more than a couple of hosts who prep great topics.
A great strategy is more than just moving an AM brand to FM.
A great strategy is more than assuming the audience will simply find us.
It comes up short when the inability to execute permeates several facets of the operation.
Look inside your office, your studios, and your cubicles.
Is that where the strategy breaks down and conspires to doom a project or initiative?
Does your brand allow a perfectly good strategy to fail because the staff’s capability to execute and the available resources to pull it off were never taken into account to begin with?
Thanks Greg Satell and www.brainstuck.com
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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