Being Strategic -- The Antidote to Fear

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Being Strategi:The Antidote to FearErika Anderen

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This story shall the good man teach his sonIts just beore dawn on the morning o the 25th o October, 1415, near Agincourt, France.

King Henry V has a small English orce, many o them ill, all o them bone-tired. They are hugely

outnumbered by the well-rested and well-ed French army beore them.

Henrys men are araid and demoralized, assuming the battle will go to the French and they

will all be slaughtered. They bemoan the act they have so ew men, and start to murmur about

how desperate their situation is, looking at each other with wild eyes.

Then Henry steps up and inspires his men by creating a clear vision o the possibility o a glorious

and well-remembered victory. William Shakespeare captured the moment in these immortal lines:

Thi day i alled the eat o Cripian:

He that outlive thi day, and ome ae home,

Will tand a tip-toe when the day i named,

And roue him at the name o Cripian.

He that hall live thi day, and ee old age,

Will yearly on the vigil eat hi neighbour,

And ay To-morrow i Saint Cripian:

Then will he trip hi leeve and how hi ar.

And ay Thee wound I had on Cripin day.

Old men orget: yet all hall be orgot,

But hell remember with advantage

What eat he did that day: then hall our name.

Familiar in hi mouth a houehold word

Harry the king, Bedord and Exeter,

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Warwik and Talbot, Salibury and Gloueter,

Be in their owing up rehly rememberd.

Thi tory hall the good man teah hi on;

And Cripin Cripian ha ll neer go by,

From thi day to the ending o the world,

But we in it hall be rememberd;

We ew, we happy ew, we band o brother;

For he to-day that hed hi blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he neer o vile,

Thi day hall gentle hi ondition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bedShall think themelve aured they were not here,

And hold their manhood heap while any peak

That ought with u upon Saint Cr ipin day.

The English went on to win the battle, and the war.

Thi i the eene o what I all being srategi:doing a lear and aurate aemento the urrent ituation, then artiulatingthe poibility o a ueul uture.

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And for us?We are living through dicult and complex times, and were reminded o that at every turn.

Each time we turn on the TV, open a newspaper, get online, we see rightening statistics repeated

again and again.

Like Henrys men at Agincourt, its all too easy to murmur and become terried, become the victims

o ear. And ear narrows your vision, makes it hard to see anything beyond the current threat.

In the grip o ear, we see only whats in ront o usocus only on deense, protection, or escape.

When a threat is immediate and physical, this ear response is completely appropriate, and is our

bodys way o keeping us alive: i a saber-toothed tiger is trying to make you into dinner, you wantto be utterly ocused on saving yoursel.

Unortunately, were wired to respond to ear in the same ways even when the threat is very dierent.

As it is now.

And the antidote to ear? Henry V knew it. Pull people out o their panic and sel-protective impulses

by rst acknowledging the diculties, then raising their eyes and hearts to a possibility o success.

At that point you can take advantage o their newly available and hopeul energy to make that

possibility a reality.

Unortunately, were wired to repond to earin the ame way even when the threat i verydierent. A it i now.

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This is the essence o what I call being strategic: doing a clear and accurate assessment o the current

situation, then articulating the possibility o a successul uture. And at that point, when you see

clearly where you are and where you hope to go, staying strategic means making core directionalchoicesas Henry didabout how to achieve that uture youve envisioned.

Heres how this translates into our current situation. Every day Im seeing business people make

panicky, ear-based decisions. Cutting essential sta, slashing R&D, reducing budgets to the point

that its dicult to carry out the work o the organization, increasing organizational oversight

not trusting people to make reasonable and necessary decisions. And these arent businesses on

the brink o collapse, these are basically sound businesses whose executives fear that they will

collapse i brutal measures arent undertaken. This is ear taking the upper hand.

Im seeing it with individuals as well; lots o people have decided to hunker down and ride it out

not giving their best, hoping they wont be redand thereby increasing the chances they will

be red. And those who have actually lost their jobs? Some are throwing o ear, but many others

are eeling demoralized and hopeless, becoming paralyzed.

I see it in mysel. Even though my business and my lie seem to be going well, I can eel the pull

o earshouldntI reak out? Shouldnt I behave deensively vs. proactively? Isnt that the wise

and reasonable thing to do in these times?

No. Its not.

The wise thing is to stay balanced; to see what is actually happening and then get clear on where

you want to be when this begins to turn aroundas it will. I want to help you do that. Consider this

maniesto a potion: an anti-ear draught meant to help you navigate through these times.

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Lets start by agreeing on a denition. There are lots o dierent denitions or being strategic

out there, ranging rom outsmarting the competition, to thinking long-term to ocusing

on what you do bestand these are only a ew o the dozens Ive heard over the past ew years!So let me oer a denition that I think incorporates the best and most useul elements o this

mindset and skill set we call being strategic:

Consistently maing those core directional choices that will best move you

toward your hoped-or uture.

Its a simple phrase, but when we behave in this way, it provides a powerul and practical antidote

to earand to the paralysis and poor choices that arise rom ear. This approach to being strategic

implies that youre still thinking about moving toward your hoped-or uture; that youre not com-

pletely consumed by the spectre o potential disaster; that youre leading, rather than just hunkering

down. Ill spend the rest o this maniesto talking about how to operationalize this denition.

The wie thing i to say balaned; to ee whati acually happening and then get lear onwhere you want to be when thi begin to turnarounda it will.

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Get clear on the real challenge you need

to address.Its tempting, in scary times, to just deault to we need to do whatever it takes to stay afoat!

And though this may actually be true or some companies, it may not be true or yours.

Most companies, even in this economic climate, are not on the verge o bankruptcy. And thinking

this way tends to lead to the kinds o panicky decisions I was talking about earlier. As a riend

and client o mine said recently o the senior management o his company, theyre burning the

urniture and counting the pencils. Its a great metaphor or what happens when people panic

i you burn the urniture, cutting essential expenses or sta, youll regret it later. And counting

the pencils, engaging in increased oversight or obsessive data collection, may reduce your

immediate anxiety, but wont have any real impact on your success or ailure.

Your actual challenge may be, How can we keep our revenues steady while we invest in new areas

o growth? or How can we maintain our bottom line i sales decrease? or even How can we

continue to thrive, even in these dicult times? Knowing what your actual (vs. ear-induced) chal-

lenge is will provide a positive ocus or all the thinking to ollow. It will turn your brain toward

the solution o your real problems, and away rom unhelpul globalizing and overstating.

Heres a simple approach or dening your challengeyou can use it to clariy any key challengeyou want to ocus on addressing: departmental, company, or personal.

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Create an accurate picture of your current reality.Now that you know the problem youre trying to solve, its important to stay in that clear and

accurate mindset as you look at your current situation relative to that problem. As I noted above,

when were araid, it tends to distort our view o whats happening to and around us in one o

two ways: we either over-estimate the negatives (e.g., the company is going to hell in a hand basket

and theres nothing I can do about it) or we deny that the negatives exist (e.g., No, really, its ne,

were goodwe have great people and a great product, thanks). Now is the time to make the

eort to be as objective as possible about your current situation, both the good news and the bad

newsand encourage those around you to do the same. Look at lacks and decienciesbut also

look at skills and capabilities, and at the resources you have at your disposal.

Heres an approach or doing that:

SEEING WHAT IS

- Become a Fair Witness

- Pull back the camera

- Sort or impact

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Become a Fair Witness: In his book, Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein invents a

proession where people are trained to be absolutely impartial in their assessments, and to

speak only rom their direct observation, without inerence or speculation. I you point to a whitehouse and ask a Fair Witness what color it is, or instance, he or she will say, It appears to

be painted white on this side.

In being strategic, its important to cultivate this ability. When youre clariying the what is

relative to a challenge youve dened, ask yoursel whether youre being a air witness.

Are you stating things as they really are, or as youd like them to be? Are you neglecting or

ignoring acts that arent comortable or convenient? Are you assuming some things

arent important simply because you dont want to actor them into your thinking? Include,

as you think about the what is, all those things Heinleins air witnesses would include.

Now i the time to make the eort to be aobjecive a poible about your urrent

ituation, both the good new and the badnewand enourage thoe around youto do the ame.

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Pull bac the camera: Imagine a scene in a movieall you see is a lamp on a table. Looks pretty

ordinary. The camera pans back, and you see that the lamp and the table are sitting in an empty

room, with no other urniture. Hmmm, whats going on? It pans back again, and you see the rontlawn o the house with a sold sign. Suddenly, it all makes sense.

You can do the same thing in your mind as you look at a business situation. A salesperson is consis-

tently missing his targets. Its easy to assume that hes not competent. But i, instead, you pull

back the camera and look at the larger situation around that person, you might see that the new

product line isnt perorming as promisedtheres a manuacturing glitch. The high return level

is aecting his sale numbers and his customers willingness to reorder. Hmmmthe broader view

gives a very dierent perspective.

Sorting or impact: I youve ever built a house o cards, you know there are some cards that are

essential to the integrity o the structure and some that arent. Take a card o the topno problem.

Remove a wall card near the bottom good-bye, card house. I you want to be a successul card

house builder, its important to know the dierence.

Similarly, knowing those acts or events that most impact the challenge is an important part o

getting clear about what is. For instance, in our sales example above, when you pull back the

camera to look at the larger situation around the salesperson, lets say you immediately learn two

other things: that he eats a sandwich or lunch every day and that he has a new boss, with whomhe doesnt seem to be getting along. Which o those things do you imagine might be having the

greatest impact on the current situation? Most people would immediately put aside the sandwich

inormation and include the new boss act in their overall what is picture. Sorting the inormation

you receive according to its probable impact on the challenge allows you to see the big picture

without being distracted by less relevant details.

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Get clear about your hoped-for future.Now you can look ahead. Given where youre starting rom, where do you want your business or

your department (or your own career) to be when weve come through this passage? We call this

reasonable aspiration. Its neither a pollyanna-like, unounded optimism, nor a grim surrender

to hopelessness: its the middle path. Its answering the question: What do I actually hope and believe

we can build, if we make best use of all thats available to us?The most eective leaders throughout

history have done this, and in so doing have turned their ollowers hearts and hands rom doom

to hope. From Henry Vs band o brothers speech, to Obamas rallying cry o yes, we can.

We at Proteus use a specic and powerul technique to help people untangle rom their limiting

assumptions in order to be able to envision a successul uture. We call it Envisioning the hoped-

for future; its a way to engage your brains ability to imagine new realities while overcoming your

brains almost equally strong ability to generate reasons why a new reality isnt easible! Heres

how it works.

ENVISION THE HOPED-FOR FUTURE

- Pick a time rame or success.- Imagine yoursel into that uture.

- Describe what success looks and eels like.

- Select the key elements.

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Pic a time rame or success: First, decide on a reasonable time rame or success. In some

cases, this may already be determinedor instance, a large project that has a built-in deadline.

In other situations, you may have to make your best guess. For instance, i youre envisioning thehoped-or uture o your department, you might pick a date one or two years out to allow time

or making substantive changes in stang or processes.

Imagine yoursel into that uture: This is the critical step. To overcome your minds resistance to

letting go o current limitations, you need to create a bit o possible uture. Put yoursel into a mental

time machine. Then, when you emerge, imagine that youre sitting in the same room, in the same

chair, but its now the end date you chose above. It helps i you support your envisioning with a

statement: Its now January 19, 20___, and Im refecting on our success over the past ___ years. Once

you eel comortably settledin your imaginationin that uture date, move on to the next step.

Describe what success loos and eels lie: From the point o view that its now a specic day

in the year 20___, describe whats happening. As you look around this new world at the end o your

time travels, what do you see? Think about key events, eelings, circumstances, and outcomes that

indicate to you that youve successully created the uture you want. For example, i youre envision-

ing the uture o your department, you might want to ocus on some o the ollowing: the results

youre getting; what its like to work in the departmentboth how it eels and how things actually

happen; what other people see (and say) when they look at or interact with you and your people;

and how youre ullling your role as the leader. (Some people like to simply visualize these things,while others nd it helpul to jot down their thoughts.)

Select the ey elements: When you eel as though you have a airly robust picture o this uture

you want, select and write down the key elementsthose parts o the uture that are key to your

vision o success. For instance, you might have imagined there would be a better coee machine in

the break room, but thats not as important to you as your vision o your team consistently sharing

important inormation with each other! As with the what is, youre sorting or impact. Write down

the handul o things you eel are the most critical indicators o the uture you want to create.

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Look at whats in the way.Once you have an accurate and clear-eyed assessment o where youre starting rom, and an inspiring

and realistic articulation o where you want to go, its important to seeagain, as a air witness

whats in the way. And or all o us, now, the world-wide economic downturn is a huge obstacle.

So, as you start to think about how to achieve your vision o the uture, its essential to actor in this

obstacle as it actually impacts you: not to let it stop you beore you begin, but in a realistic and

balanced way. (Then you can create strategies and tactics that will get you over, around, or through it.)

People oten resist this step (especially now), because theyre araid it will be demoralizing and theyll

lose their momentum. To keep that rom happening, rame these obstacles as the things we need

to overcome in order to succeed versus the things that are going to keep us rom succeeding.

With that as your mindset, how can you then make sure youre being clear-eyed and accurate about

the key obstacles? We suggest you use the same approaches you used during the what is step:

FACING WHATS IN THE WAY

- Be a air witness


- Sort or impact

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Be a air witness (again): Your skills as a air witness will really be put to the test in this step.

Depending on your own particular wiring, you may tend to avoid looking at the obstacles, or

you may over-balance in the opposite direction and become completely paralyzed by them. The arthere is to learn to look at obstacles simply as data, as a Fair Witness would.

Pull bac the camera (again): In this part o the process, you pull back the camera ar enough

to see both point A (your what is) and point B (your hoped-or uture), and then think about the

circumstances, events, or belies that could make it more dicult to get rom point A to point B.

With the camera pulled back, you look at obstacles within you or your team, as well as those

obstacles outside o you or your team (depending on whether youre envisioning your personal

uture, or your team or company uture).

Sort or impact (again): At this point, sorting or impact is simpler than it was at rst. Knowing

where youre trying to go makes it easier to see what might get in the way. Heres one way to sort

or impact: Once youve pulled back your camera and generated a list o possible obstacles, go

back and prioritize the list in terms o potential impact, noting those obstacles that you eel might

present the greatest diculty and are most important to overcome.

One you have an aurate and lear-eyedaement o where youre sarting rom, and aninpiring and realisi artiulation o where youwant to go, it important to ee ... what in the way.

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Make your core directional choices.Now its time to choose the path rom now to what you hope. Thats what strategies are:

core directional choices. Theyre the main paths you decide will best take you to the uture

youve envisioned.

For instance, one o FDRs strategies in the New Deal was get immediate help to those who need

it most. Not a specic action, but rather a core choice about a direction in which the nation was

going to ocus its time and energy. You can create strategies that will protect your core during these

dicult times (e.g., Assure that each employee is operating at peak eciency) and others that will

move you toward your hoped-or uture (e.g., Shit our sales ocus to our international markets).

The mental skills or creating good strategy are those Ive discussed throughout this article,

with one variation:

DEFINING WHATS THE PATH

- Be a air witness


- Sort or FIT

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Be a air witness and pull bac the camera are the same as theyve been all along. You get as

objective as possible, and step back rom the details to take in the whole picture o what youre

trying to accomplish, so that you can select the strategies that will most eectively move youin the direction you want to go. The thing thats great about pulling back the camera at this point

is that you can nally see the whole picture: where you are now, where youre trying to go, and

whats in the way. Its like using the region view on MapQuest to get driving directions rom one

city to another. The question to ask yoursel herejust as you do on Mapquest!is Whats the

best way to get from where I am to where Im going?

The principle behind sorting or impactwhich youve used all along as a way to determine which

things are most relevantstays the same in this step, but we add some specics about howto sort.

The process we use to determine relevance in this nal step is something we call sorting or FIT.

When youre trying to decide whether a strategy (and later on, a tactic) is the best choice, use FIT

as a screen by asking yoursel the ollowing questions:

Is this easible? Do we have (or can we get) the resources or expertise needed to do this

is it realistic? Will it be possible, given the obstacles?

Is this impactul? Will we get a big return or our eort in doing thisis there a lot o bang or

the buck in moving us toward our vision? Will it get us past or through the obstacles?

Is this timely? This question has two aspects. First, is this something we can do now, or are

there other things we need to do rst? And second, i we can do it now, do we needto do it now?

In other words, is there a window o opportunity or doing it that will close, or will not doing it

keep us rom doing other things?

I, in asking yoursel these questions, you get three thumbs up, its a pretty good bet youve hit

upon a useul strategy.

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Walk down the path.Heres where you get specic. Finally! Once youre clear on the strategies you believe will bestmove you toward your envisioned uture, you can use those strategies as a lter or deciding the

specic actionsmeasureable and measuredyoull use to implement them. In the words o

Michael Porter, the essence o strategy lies in deciding what not to do; having good strategies

enables you to pick your shots tactically: to decide what to do and what not to do.

For example, lets say one o your strategies is to assure that each employee is operating at peak

eciency. To implement that strategy, youd ocus on specic actions that would most eectively

promote that choice. For example, youd make sure that everyones responsibilities are clearly

dened, that those responsibilities will yield the results the business needs, that employees are

provided with the skills, resources and knowledge they need to ulll their responsibilities, and

that each person is held accountable or achieving his or her goals.

Here are some guidelines or creating good and eective tactics or implementing your strategies:

EXCELLENT TACTICS

- Arise rom strategy

- Are FIT

- Dene what, who, and when

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Arise rom strategy: This is just a conrmation o all weve been talking about in the path step.

Rather than randomly perorming actions that maytake you in the right direction (think o the

tactical failing youve experienced over the years in situations where the vision and strategy werentclear and agreed upon), you dene your strategies, and then select the tactics that will best

implement those strategies.

Are FIT: As when youre choosing strategies, in choosing tactics you continue to screen or

easibility, impact, and timeliness.

Defne what, who, and when. At this point, youre nally notpulling back the camera. You want

to see every detail, and it needs to be measurable. Agree on what the action is, whos going to be

responsible or it, and when it will get done.

Rather than randomly perorming acionthat may take you in the right direcion ...

you defne your srategie, and thenelec the taci that will bes implementthoe srategie.

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Reposition in response to reality.I dont have to tell you that conditions are changing quickly. But one o the benets o being strategicin this way is that you have a powerul, practical, inspiring plan that you can use as a stake in the

ground, and then revise as conditions shitrather than simply being bueted about by the winds

o change.

You can reposition by using the same stepsupdate the what is, reresh the hope, reassesses

the obstacles, rene the pathas circumstances shit.

Staying strategic as a leader benets you and everyone around you. I you have a clear, results-

ocused, fexible operating map, youre less likely to be at the eect o poor, reactive decision-making rom above. (Remember that nature abhors a vacuumand i you dont have a vision and

a plan, youll have a course o action imposed upon you, or better or or worse.)

Moreover, i you are a manager, and approach your team or companys uture in this way, your

employees will most likely eel reassured and calmed (especially i theyve been involved in the creation

o the plan), and can then step beyond their own earlike Henrys men at Agincourtto be ocused

and productive through these dicult times. This is especially true i you continue to involve them

in the plans evolution and keep them updated regarding both diculties and successes.

And, o course, it will benet your organization to have a ocused and not-ear-inspired map to

the uture. Just as it will benet you, i youre applying this approach to your own lie and career.

Having a compelling vision, and a clear and easible plan or attaining it, is your best chance

o navigating successully through these stormy times and docking saely on the urther shore.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Erika Andersen is the author oGrowing Great Employees: Turning Ordinary People into Extraordinary

Performersand Being Strategic: Plan for Success; Out-Think Your Competitors; Stay Ahead of Change.These books draw on her experience as the ounder o Proteus International, a consulting rm that works

with CEOs and top executives o many major corporations, including GE, MTV Networks, NBC Universal,

Comcast, Union Square Hospitality Group, CBS, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, and Madison Square Garden. You

can keep up with Erika on her blog, The Simplest Thing That Works. To learn more about her new book, visit

beingstrategic.com.

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Being Strategic -- The Antidote to Fear