How to avoid over-strategising

Over-strategising is frustrating. The process of developing a strategy, re-writing, and then doing it all over again many times is not only exhausting, but also largely futile.  The results of over-strategising are lack-lustre and lead to, at best, a poorly-executed digital strategy, or worse, one that doesn’t take off at all.  

But how exactly do we know if we’re over-strategising? Below, we take a look at what the phenomenon is, what the telltale signs of over-strategising are, and what can be done about them.

What’s gone wrong?  

At Charity Digital, we’ve gone over why digital strategy can fail. The success of such a strategy can be down to many things, but mishaps typically occur as a result of a few main reasons.  

The signs of over-strategising 

There’s no firm rule around the right amount of time and effort spent on consideration and planning. But, there are symptoms to look out for when over-strategising.  

Hiding behind planning 

A common risk of over-strategising is spending too much time in the planning phase. Writing for LinkedIn, Kristina Närman notes some of the hazards. She says that market conditions change quickly and strategies which take too long to think about become useless and out of date.  

Too many strategies are confusing 

Big thinkers with lots of ideas inject creativity into strategies, but can sometimes offer too many avenues. This means there’s little clarity on the vision and detail into how to execute.  

Lots of thinking but no coordination 

Digital consultant Tom Hovey hits on why so many strategies fail. It’s because despite all the bells and whistles, it doesn’t fit around the charity’s purpose or activities. Hovey adds that digital strategy should sit underneath business plans and be the layer that works with your tech.  

In other words, too much strategising means not focusing on your core organisational needs and the technology you need to deliver them.  

The solutions to over-strategising

Despite some of the recipes for disaster, there are key ingredients to a successful digital strategy. While we’ve highlighted some in previous pieces, it’s important to take a quick review.  

Clearly defined goals steer the way 

Unlike spending a huge amount of time planning, setting defined ambitions gives clarity to staff. At Charity Digital, we suggest using SMART goals. Those that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and timely work best.  

For example, one digital strategy aim may be to increase website traffic by 10% over the next year. When looking at it from the SMART goal lens, it’s clearly quantifiable and is a modest increase over current performance constrained over the next year.  

Revise your strategy 

The world of tech is constantly changing and it is important to keep the strategy relevant. At Charity Digital, we recommend taking stock and performing an audit.  

Elements to consider are marketing, design, imagery, readability, user journeys, and basic user experience. Updating how the digital strategy is improving those aspects is a good place to start.  

If you don’t understand, get help 

As part of the digital strategy process, consult with the Digital Maturity Matrix. The outputs score charities along the topics of leadership, user-centred, strategy, risks, data, communications, team, people and skills, internal systems, services, and accessibility. Then, leaders can use the scoring to zero in on weaknesses.  

In addition to understanding the topics for development, check out whether there are internal experts to design and execute the strategy. If there aren’t, turn to external advisors. They can serve as a pair of fresh eyes and help navigate the landscape.  

Be responsive 

Last, to be successful in strategy, build in redundancies and room to improve. Stephen Cahill, writing for the Cranfield Trust offers six steps to designing a responsive strategy. As part of the process, leaders should incorporate time to verify whether their ‘world view’ is right.  

If it’s not, then start theorising again and collect data. Ultimately, it’s the refining process that enables successful leaders to execute strategy.