⚡ Fixed
Strategy,
Fluid Markets: A Dangerous Mismatch
Every failed pivot once looked like a well-written plan. Executives
signed off. Teams aligned. Resources were committed. But somewhere between
PowerPoint and reality, the market moved on—and the strategy stayed still.
It's not incompetence. It's something subtler, more dangerous: the
illusion of stability.
Executives still craft 5-year strategies as if tomorrow looks like
today. Yet consumer trends shift in weeks. Competitors emerge overnight. Shocks—economic,
technological, geopolitical—arrive with no warning. Under these conditions, a
rigid strategic roadmap isn’t a sign of discipline. It’s a liability.
A 2023 McKinsey & Company report warns that in high-velocity
sectors like tech and consumer electronics, strategies older than 12–18 months
often become “strategic theatre”—presentations that no longer reflect
operational reality (McKinsey, 2023). Their survey of 1,000+ executives found 82%
experienced major disruptions to their long-term strategies within just two
years.
And so, what we often call a "north star" becomes, quietly, a
blindfold.
💡 Agility > Grand
Strategy
The solution is not to abandon strategy altogether, but to reframe it
as a dynamic process rather than a static document. Companies like Amazon
and Netflix are known for setting flexible, principle-based goals rather
than rigid roadmaps. This enables them to pivot fast without losing
sight of their long-term vision.
Academic Insight: In a 2021 paper in Harvard Business Review,
Rita McGrath and Ryan McManus argue that "traditional strategy is
ill-suited for dynamic environments" and propose a model of
"continuous strategic reconfiguration" (HBR, 2021).
“The more unpredictable the environment, the more important it is to be
able to adjust and adapt, not to predict and control.” – Rita McGrath, Columbia
Business School
🔍 Contrarian Take:
Strategic Rigidity Kills Innovation
Sticking too tightly to a fixed plan creates blind spots.
Innovation requires freedom to test, fail, and iterate—something a rigid
strategy often doesn’t allow.
Example: Nokia’s downfall in the 2010s is a textbook case. Analysts from INSEAD
found that Nokia’s leadership stuck to outdated strategic assumptions and
failed to adapt to the smartphone disruption led by Apple and Android (INSEAD,
2015).
“Strategic inertia—not lack of talent or resources—was Nokia’s real
weakness.” –INSEAD
✅ A More Effective
Approach
In volatile environments, the most effective organizations adopt these
principles:
- Short
feedback loops: Quarterly or monthly strategic reviews instead of annual planning.
- Scenario
planning: Preparing for multiple futures, not just one expected outcome.
- Empowered
teams: Decentralizing decision-making allows faster response times.
Gartner also recommends companies move toward "rolling strategy cycles"
to maintain agility while aligning on broader objectives (Gartner, 2022).
This gets more important if you are a team of young entrepreneurs working on a
startup and have less experience. You may have set your strategy based on
misassumptions and miscalculations of the market and you grow as you move on. Experienced
managers and companies also may need to speed up their market adaptation to
compete with younger teams.
Final Thought
Strategy still matters—but in today’s world, the ability to adapt is
the strategy. In fast-moving industries, agility beats precision.
The winners aren’t those with the most detailed 5-year plans, but those who can
turn on a dime without losing direction.
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Farhad Hafez Nezami
May 2025
#Strategy #growth #strategy #growth.exe #businessstrategy
#Saas #startup #businessmind #creative #volatilemarket #businessplan
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