Execution vs. Differentiation

This week, I had a great talk with someone who reads Building Creative. Our talk helped craft my view that there are two types of strategy. And as organizations grow more complex, the root of their strategy can get weakened or go missing.

Two types of strategy.

To understand this shift and how to prevent it, let’s first note the two primary types of strategy…

• Execution strategy

• Differentiation strategy

Execution strategy is all about executing. Objectives get identified, tactics get planned, and action commences.

Differentiation strategy is about making a bet on a unique value. As the market shows favor, that unique value gets amplified and strengthened.

Start higher.

Execution strategies can also be value-minded, but the focus is on action. Which means other things can muddy the water. Complexity, the managerial class, misalignment, and more cause strategy to lose focus. Eventually the goal becomes growth at all costs; not value.

Meanwhile, differentiation strategies should always follow with execution. So it’s really a matter of putting first things first. This is why I will always favor a strategy of differentiation. At the core is the idea of giving unique value to the marketplace.

The secret.

Some organizations are capable of maintaining a differentiation strategy. Despite factors that push them toward an execution strategy, they preserve the core. Our conversation surfaced a key to this puzzle…

If employees are an organization’s largest resource…

And those employees daily implement the strategy…

Then making sure employees deeply understand the unique and differentiated value is the most important thing an organization can do to convert employee action into market value.

Strategy clarity.

The root of this capability lies in communication. Simple, focused, and easy to remember. And consistent, repeated, and reinforced.

What does your strategy look like? And how are you communicating it?