Here Comes Strategy 3.0

Most of us are big fans of football season. For just a moment, picture the coach of your favorite team on the week of their biggest game. It’s time for his weekly pregame press conference. He sits down behind the microphone and begins…“Got a big game this week. Feeling great about the way we’ve practiced and about our game plan. Just a couple minor notes… I’ve decided that we will not pass the ball at all this week. We’re only going to run it. Also, I’ve encouraged the players to forget about that ‘neutral zone’ nonsense. I’ve told them to stand wherever they would like, whenever they want. Finally, I’ve always thought that 10 yards was a little excessive for a first down, so we’re just going to aim for 5 yards this week. Any questions?"Flashbulbs pop. Media members begin to write furiously, text madly, and tweet indiscriminately. Meanwhile, you struggle back to consciousness long enough to exclaim,  “We’re going to get killed! He can’t win that way. Why would he go back to such old-fashioned tactics that don’t make any sense? He isn’t playing by the right set of rules. This isn’t 1904! He isn’t even acknowledging the ways the game and players have changed!”The Rules Have ChangedTo have success in any setting, not just football, one must know the rules and parameters of the game. As that game evolves, people must take notes and change as well. Refusal to adjust to new realities results in being left behind like a football coach who refuses to throw the ball. Just as the strategy of football has changed dramatically with the advent of the forward pass and the neutral zone, the world of business strategy has experienced a shift in recent years. The longstanding strategic model, which I call Strategy 2.0, has begun to falter in effectiveness. Unable to address the current pace and realities of today’s marketplace, Strategy 2.0 has been stressed to its limits. Fortunately a new iteration, Strategy 3.0, has taken shape. Unlike the methodical, slow-paced Strategy 2.0, the 3.0 framework is fast and agile. It calls for nimbleness, a tolerance for uncertainty and the willingness to keep trying until it’s done right.The Arrival of Strategy 3.0Strategy 1.0 was primarily military based from about 500 B.C. until the 1950’s. Strategy was the tool one party used to conquer their enemy through smart deployment of resources and intelligence. Although it evolved and advanced, the battlefield was still the primary landscape for anything strategy related. Strategy 2.0 operated from 1950 until today. After World War II, military planning migrated off the battlefield and into the offices of business and government as strategic planning. Experts such as Peter Drucker and Michael Porter developed theories to guide leaders in helping their organizations succeed. Their theories, produced at a time when the rate of social change was slower, provided a methodical way to think about setting goals and mobilize employees to achieve them. And it worked—until it stopped working. Towards the end of the twentieth century, conditions in society changed in such a way that Strategy 2.0 began to falter in its effectiveness. Another strategic framework began to form in its place—one that isn’t slow but fast, one that isn’t systematic but agile. It’s still possible to make smart decisions for organizations that will pay off later. But now those decisions call for nimbleness, a tolerance for uncertainty and the willingness to keep trying until it’s done right.Shifting From Strategy 2.0 to 3.0Here is an uncommon preview of the eight major contrasts between Strategy 2.0 and Strategy 3.0.Leaders are desperate for a new type of strategy that? is effective. Organizations need a framework that can maintain the speed of the market and be disruptive. Customers, patients and clients want useful and innovative insights. So put away the old playbook if you want to compete and win today—evolving your company’s strategy is the first place to start.