A tale of rethinking strategy.

A tale of rethinking strategy.
Have you thought about yours?
#marketingtips  

Originally shared by John Moore

How Mr Kit Taught Me About the Benefit of Changing Strategies

I have a "Tail" of Woe to tell. I must warn you though, it is not for the squeamish..   

You see, on a farm all the residents must in some way, contribute to the bottom line.  No moochers allowed.  For example, a cat's job is to keep the little vermin at bay, this includes the cute little rabbits, that can devastate your crops with amazing efficiency.  

Mr Kit had been highly efficient at this task for many, many years. But suddenly, several months ago, he seemed to have just given up on rabbits, especially the older adult rabbits.  

Maybe he got a case of the "Garfield syndrome"?  Getting fat and lazy? Heaven forbid...

Quickly, it seems, the rabbits got wind of his disinterest, and would be seen hopping and munching all over the place. I was expecting a party with loud music pretty soon.

This was distressing to say the least, and I feared drastic measures might have to be taken. I had long talks with Mr Kit, but it seemed I was not getting through, like I was just talking to myself.

Increasingly Mr. Kit could be seen lying there, completely disinterested, licking paws and sleeping while the rabbits got braver and braver, coming  closer and closer, doing more and more damage.  I did begin to notice one change in Mr. Kit's behavior, he began parking himself closer and closer to their normal runway paths through the garden.  

It was getting curiouser and curiouser. What's going on here…?

Suddenly a few nights ago, the rabbits got a BIG surprise.. Mr. Kit went on the war path.. (suffice it to say it brought a smile to my face..). Over the next three nights the rabbit population pretty much just disappeared.  Mr. Kit, on the other hand, is off fat and sassy, sleeping off the banquet.

So what happened?

Well, my guess is that Mr. Kit's previous strategy was failing, and he knew it.  Cats normally rely on stealth.. slowly and patiently stalking their prey and then in a burst of speed making the kill.  Problem is, adult rabbits are fast little buggers, (as Buggs Bunny often demonstrated) and this ended up being a very frustrating strategy, and amounted to nothing more than harassment.   Now, that worked for me. It instilled fear and caution, but was not satisfying for Mr. Kit, or so it now appears. 

For him, it was a complete failure.

So Mr. Kit changed his strategy. This amounted to a studied and patient complacency over many months, where the rabbits began to no longer fear the cat lying around, licking paws, sleeping and ignoring them. They felt safe, 

...then he struck...

What is the lesson here for a business?

We first need to quickly realize when our business strategies are not working well enough, or not at all.  Then, be willing to change it up by recognizing and leveraging the changing and emerging opportunities. 

Don't get attached to the strategy, get attached to the results.

So just maybe, would lying around licking your paws and watching the problem for a while bring new insights for a new strategy? 

Hey, it worked for Mr. Kit.  (And he now is back in good graces on the farm..) 

Seriously, I'm not into licking my paws (what a sight that would be..) but I will be keeping an eye out for new opportunities and strategies.

And that, my friends, is my Rabbit's "Tail" of Woe, for this coming   #caturday  

Posted by John Moore  for RightStart Websites.

#strategies   #businessstrategy