The fine line between win and lose

Over the years I have been fascinated by leadership – studying specific individuals and concepts related to both business and life situations.

Part of the inevitable process of studying the concept of leadership, is the need to also analyze how teams operate and perform under different leaders.

In a professional league made up of players with relatively similar skill-sets:

1. Why does one team perform better than another (why did Cleveland destroy Golden State in the last NBA playoffs when both teams had superstars)?
2. In pressure situations, why does one team respond in fear and another respond with magic (how did Leicester go from a second division to win the Premier League in one year then fall from grace the very next)?
3. How does one team perform so poorly one year, then excel the next year with a very similar roster but a different coach (the Oakland Raiders meteoric rise in the NFL in one year with a roster of relatively similar skill players)?

Is it the development of new technical capabilities? Is it a new strategy or game plan that accommodates the skill-sets on the team? Is it circumstances within the league that have paved the way for the change in that team? Perhaps it can be a combination of these factors.

But in almost all situations, the change is directly or indirectly affected by the change in leadership of the team. A leadership that has instilled a new working environment, a new attitude and/or a new team philosophy that has provided a means for the team to maximize its capabilities.

Creating a true marketing strategy can (and should) have the same effect. The focus of the plan should not be on identifying specific vehicles and production materials for a “campaign”.  The primary focus for your company’s marketing strategy should be to identify the resources, understand the product/service and create the environment and plan necessary to help your marketing maximize the opportunities available to you.

As a result it can’t be a cookie-cutter approach (leadership is never from a mould).  Developing your strategy takes experience, and the ability to work within your environment and your restrictions (not within the agency’s philosophies). But most importantly, it requires an ability to match the leadership of the company’s goals and vision with the necessary marketing activities.

Leading the process to develop a corporate marketing strategy may not be as exciting as watching a Premier League Championship race, but the results should be equally as compelling.