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In a recent strategic meeting with my CEO, Market Head of ACCA (South Africa) and ACCA Southern Africa regional marketing manager, I attempted to pull off a jest on the competitiveness between ACCA and CIMA and the fact that I had just acquired my full membership with CIMA yet here I was in a strategic meeting with ACCA. For those who do not know what a jest is, Merriam-Webster defines it as “a joking or mocking remark.” My setting was perfect; I had the right audience and the moment to strike was golden, as they say, the “right time and right place.”
So, here I go, I had put on my CGMA badge and before the meeting began, I went all in with my jest… “Sorry but, I know you’re ACCA and this meeting is with ACCA, yet here I am, full on CGMA…” and as I was going in with my jest, it backfired right at me and went the other way. The Market Head’s response in the middle of my jest before I could even get to the end was, “No, you don’t have to apologise for it at all! It’s an achievement which you should be proud of….” and before I knew it, my CEO had jumped in support, “You should be very proud, it’s true…” and as I tried to get a handle on the situation, the setting of my jest had completely dissipated from under me and what I intended to be an ice breaker, had turned into a therapeutic moment of encouragement – I definitely did not see coming!
In a review of what went wrong, what do I think caused the mishap and quickly escalated into something completely different? The use of the word ‘sorry’ right at the beginning of the jest. Communication in leadership is key and though you may have the right strategy, the right resources, and know exactly how it’s going to turn your business around and increase your revenues, how you communicate it to your stakeholders would effectively make or break that strategy. It is a well understood concept that a bad strategy executed very well, is better than a good strategy executed poorly. This also reflects the saying “it is better to be strong and wrong, than weak and right.” In simple terms, be confident and sure of what you’re saying. To get people to follow you, you never display doubt in the vision or direction you are trying to take the business. You need to be dogmatic about it and believe in the entirety of it in order to get others to also believe in it and follow you to make it a reality.
However, in as much as you plan, you need to understand that risks come from everywhere and there are certain things you can never plan for. This is where the need to be adept, agile and flexible comes in. With the way the world is changing today with all the technological breakthroughs, businesses need to be able to adapt to the ever changing landscape in order to remain competitive. Mintzberg’s emergent approach to strategy fits right well into this concept. The old adage, “failing to plan is planning to fail,” still remains and before you start your journey, you need to know where you intend on going but still have the flexibility to be able to shift and alter your path as you keep your eye on the prize and continue working towards your vision.
The sad truth is, if you remain on the same path when factors around you are changing and you can see danger and cannot alternate your route, you will fall right through and never get to your destination. Be agile, see the danger ahead, alter your path, find an alternative but never get your eye off your vision/goals/objectives as when you do, everything you have worked hard up to this point then become meaningless as a business.
“If you do not know where you’re going, indeed any road will get you there!”
Mangaliso Mithi ACMA, CGMA
Young and Exceptional