If you are asking yourself that question, the answer is probably yes.
When you are creating a sales plan, marketing plan, strategic plan of any sort, you will inevitably come across this question: Am I missing something? It’s a critical point in the review process. The way you address it reveals secrets about your ability to move an organization forward.
There are three ways you can react to this crucial question.
Ask people in your field.
Ask people outside your field.
The first option is for people who will go out of business, blaming other people. [Not you, of course.] If you turn to the people in your field, expect to hear a review of your plan. Your employees, coworkers, and peers often have a view of the marketplace that is similar to yours. If you want fresh eyes and fresh ideas, go outside your walls.
Of course I recommend asking people outside your field. “Strategy stress testing” is a service I provide to my clients. But here is why I believe it is objectively valuable.
Your true desire is to locate information outside your consideration. By default, this requires someone who has a different perspective. Call her a coach, advisor, consultant, co-conspirator, whatever. This person’s role is to show you things that you don’t see now. This does not mean “unknown unknowns.” Knowing information and considering information are different functions.
Outsiders challenge your thinking. Experts operate under the same set of assumptions. Designers assume design is important to everyone. Plastics manufacturers assume customers want plastics. Is that really true? Seek a generalist instead of an expert. Generalist thinkers see a world of knowledge that can be combined, exchanged, resized, and manipulated in many ways. They should make you reconsider your assumptions about the marketplace, your place in it, and how you operate.
The biggest opportunities - and threats - are outside your borders. Your direct competitors are obvious considerations, but the biggest changes are happening outside your industry. New organizations are taking advantage of alternate models, avoiding infrastructure, and rearranging the rules of operation. They are shifting public perception about how goods and services are delivered, affecting how your customers see you. Your organization lives in a changing environment. Who is helping you adapt?
Intuition is strong. It alerts you to change. But the questions is: will you?
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