No business can succeed without a strategic plan. Yet, based on my fifty years of experience leading companies like Reebok and HBO Video, I’ve come to realize that often the biggest hurdle to creating a plan is figuring out exactly what business you’re in. Below is my step-by-step formula for building a strategic plan that will take your company from good to great.
Identify what business you are really in: Sometimes it’s not as obvious as you think. For example, when I was running Reebok it became apparent that we were not in the athletic footwear business but in the “lifestyle entertainment business.” Less than 30% of sneakers ever saw any form of athletic competition or physical fitness routine. In the toy business, we were in child development, especially today with well-educated millennial moms. In video games, we were in the business of creating habitual behavior. I encourage leaders to also identify the businesses…
