The Strategy Paradox: Why committing to success leads to failure (and what to do about it), by Michael E. RaynorWhat He Says: It turns out that the critical elements of success in business starts with the very same ingredients as failure. The paradox is: Strategies with the greatest possibility of success also have the greatest possibility of failure.
Victory requires valiant action - and this necessitates the risk of defeat.
The opposite of success is not failure; it is mediocrity.
Nobody can accurately predict the future based on the past. There are too many unknowns and external factors over which the company has absolutely zero control. Leaders should focus on managing strategic uncertainty vs. locking down a strategy that will stand the test of time - none will do so.
What This Means for You: As an MBA student, I was trained to assess risk and create strategy based on known factors. But once I entered the entrepreneurial space, I recognized that this simply isn't enough, and the most successful entrepreneurs aren't marching along like toy soldiers, following a specific strategy to completion, and then setting another one. They are continuously taking big risks, only a small percentage of which pay off.
This book does a great job of demonstrating how strategic plans can be misguided and actually work against the possibility of building a great company. I think every entrepreneur needs to evaluate her risk tolerance, and build a strategic uncertainty engine in which she consistently explores new ideas nimbly and with the minimum possible caution given her individual goals and personality.
Virginia Ginsburg is founder and chief consultant at Swell Strategies. She is passionate about supporting small business owners and entrepreneurs in starting and running successful enterprises. An avid reader, in this blog she reviews books and articles and relates specific learning points back to entrepreneurial businesses.
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