Since I last posted, I’ve been struggling with my ”marketing overhaul” as part of my business model pivot. I actually haven’t been feeling very comfy about the path I chose, eg. trying to swiftly create some smart posts and articles on LinkedIn and start to send InMails on LinkedIn as well, to possible prospects.
I actually got stuck in some sort of creative process I haven’t defined fully yet. Wondering where to go right now is possibly a part of the journey I’m on that should be to carve out “a strategy” if one prefers to use that term.
I’m beginning to wonder if we shouldn’t treat “strategy work” as something deeper and more of an introspective thing, at least when it comes to what one as an individual needs to do in order to – well, there we are – in order to actually find a pace and a way of life one truly can enjoy. Enrolling in assignments with absurd conditions and expectations is neither fulfilling nor satisfactory in the long run. It might as well just be better and more comfortable to strive for – employment…
What sparked my thinking in this possibly not-regarded-as-so-prosperous-and-successful-in-terms-of-monetization direction was a written piece of Maarten Dalmijn, a Dutch guy writing about, hmm, product management and value creation, I guess you can summarize it to. I’ve been following him from his earliest days of writing, and reading this essay was an enlightening moment for me.
He writes so wisely about why easing the grip of climbing the career ladder when you really don’t need to, could be a better way for finding a better balance between work and life and everything in-between. I try to have in mind though that Maarten has a track record of maybe 10 years of writing on his subject, so he sure has an advantage – and that asset of making an impression is important to nurture.
I have also reconsidered the change of language to use when writing and, hmm, marketing myself. I actually find it easier to express my thoughts in English, and there is a fact that I have preconditions for better reach with natively created texts in English. It’s a hard truth that Swedish is a niche language spoken by a few cave-living creatures up in the north… It also makes a web page much easier to maintain than having to implement multiple language support. So – I will re-translate my “marketing parts” on the web page again, but this time with a better clarity on who I am and what I want to deliver for potential customers (though the value proposition messaging actually has been remarkably consistent during the years).
I will also try to cross-post as much as possible. I have decided that this site is my source and posts published here will show up, possibly slightly modified, on LinkedIn as articles and on Substack and I will try to evaluate where the best engagement is achieved, though the underlying drive force should be just to get everything out that is boiling in my head.
So, in order to follow the promised route about writing about strategy work, how it can be done effectively, and with myself as the example, here comes a first sentence:
The first thing to do when deciding to actually dive into your strategy work is to perform a diagnosis. This is one of three pillars in what Richard P. Rumelt points out as “the kernel” of the strategy (I have adopted Rumelt’s theories about good strategy work that he describes in the book “Good Strategy, Bad Strategy,” and it is this “framework” I will promote onwards).
Simplified, this first step is about asking oneself “what is going on?” And by this, identify the problem that is most prioritized to solve. For my own part, this is quite clear: I need to get some sort of cadence on my revenues again, and writing this is a small piece in the puzzle I’m about to solve.
For the enterprise, be it small or big, this might be a tough start. And that’s where one like me can come in and make a difference. It’s important to bear in mind that I will get you to dig into your (and your organization’s) knowledge and lift your already made experiences up to the light so your business actually can benefit from knowledge hiding in people’s minds. With that said – I’m not the expert. You are. My expertise is in how to get you to release your (business’) potential.
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