Why mHealth Firms Should Become Adaptively Strategic

Over the past several months, I’ve become an Agile Marketing convert and have been preaching the value of Agile to my mHealth clients.  Here’s why.  The Agile process promotes transparency, moves projects quickly and keeps marketers focused on a specific set of goals.  All good stuff.    

But let’s take a step back for a moment.  Let’s not lose sight of the fact that to get the most out of the Agile Marketing process,  a solid  STRATEGY has to be in place.   And just as Agile has taught us to fail quicker and adapt through lessons learned, your strategy must take on an Agile approach. Strategies that look one year into the future, or worse yet, five years ahead are doomed to failure without an agile, adaptive approach.

Here are six things from Paul J. H. Schoemaker  you can do to be adaptively strategic:

Anticipate
Most of the focus at most companies is on what’s directly ahead. The leaders lack “peripheral vision.” This can leave your company vulnerable to rivals who detect and act on ambiguous signals.

Think Critically
Conventional wisdom opens you to fewer raised eyebrows and second-guessing. But if you swallow every management fad, herd-like belief, and safe opinion at face value, your company loses all competitive advantage. Critical thinkers question everything.

Interpret
Ambiguity is unsettling. Faced with it, the temptation is to reach for a fast (and potentially wrongheaded) solution.  A good strategic leader holds steady, synthesizing information from many sources before developing a viewpoint.

Decide
Many leaders fall prey to “analysis paralysis.” You have to develop processes and enforce them, so that you arrive at a “good enough” position.

Align
Total consensus is rare. A strategic leader must foster open dialogue, build trust and engage key stakeholders, especially when views diverge.

Learn
As your company grows, honest feedback is harder and harder to come by.  You have to do what you can to keep it coming. This is crucial because success and failure–especially failure–are valuable sources of organizational learning.

So please be Adaptive with your strategic planning so that you are making the most of your Agile Marketing efforts.

 

 

 

photo credit: magia3e via photo pin cc