“Hope is not a strategy.” – Vince Lombardi.
A lot of people keep hoping without plan, strategy and action. Great things don’t happen on nothing; they happen on something. I believe that hope is not a negative construct. Hope is a necessity to keep dreams alive. However, I also believe that hope is not a strategy. I will try to write an article on hope someday, but it’s ideal to keep hope alive while doing your best.
Make this year strategic
The truth is that when people fail to plan, they set themselves up to fail. Make this year a year of planning, strategizing and executing actions as planned.
Strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term aim. Therefore, if strategy is a plan of actions, it means that it is deliberate; it is intentional. It means that you are either strategic or not.
Everything is strategy! You need the right strategy to have a competitive advantage in a given environment. The right strategy fixes a lot of things.
Tough situation bows to smart strategy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) reaffirmed a growth rate of 2.7 percentage for Nigeria in 2022. This means that businesses and households in Nigeria will fare slightly better.
However, it is important to note that the discussion on removal of oil subsidy, foreign exchange rates, insecurity, and inflation, will be issues of concern in 2022.
The business outlook is not entirely rosy; this is why you require a smart strategy to get things done.
We need strategy at home, in our workplaces, in our businesses, and in every aspect of our lives.
Design your strategy
As a professional, entrepreneur or player in any life endeavour, it is your duty to sit down and design how you will achieve your goals this year.
It’s not enough to set brilliant goals; you need to determine how to achieve them.
Strategy is a topic for everyone. I have seen small businesses succeed because the drivers of the businesses defined their purposes from the beginning and followed through. I have also seen businesses with great potentials fail because of wrong strategies. You need to be intentional to achieve your goals.
Life is about strategy
Strategy tells how you will get things done. It’s not enough to have a vision, you must support your vision with a good strategy; otherwise it becomes an illusion.
A lot of people have designed beautiful New Year resolutions this 2022; but many of these resolutions are abandoned within the first quarter of the year. Why is this so? No strategy! You need to work your way to the top. No magic!
Many people have great goals on paper. They want to achieve a lot of smart things this year. The issue is not necessarily about not having a goal. A lot of people have goals, at least unwritten ones. The main issue is how to bring these goals to life. This is where strategy comes in.
Strategy brings dreams to life
To dream is easy. Everyone is at liberty to have great dreams.
A lot of folks can dream but making your dream a reality is the crux of the matter. Why is this so? Again, I say, lack of strategy.
I have met a lot of people in my career as a bestselling author, accredited training consultant, life and business coach. I have mentored people who achieved their goals. I have also met people who wanted to get to the top without using the ladder. They just wanted to jump to the top! They just wanted to fly to the top without following a process.
The truth is that the person who jumps to the top without using a ladder, may be courting orthopaedic hospital. People who jump from lofty heights unguarded, may get wounded. This is usually the case.
Success follows a defined process. Success is strategy. Strategy is Success.
Take charge!
No matter what the environment says, it is ideal that you take charge.
I wrote a complete book on success: The 11 Irrefutable Principles of Success. I recommend you get the book. It’s a great read.
One outstanding rule for success is following the right paths consistently and doing the right things at the right time. Achieving success in life follows a sequence. Success is a journey, not a destination. It requires a process. You don’t jump at success, you work at success. You work on success.
You must take charge now. You must sit on the driver’s seat and take charge of the 2022 journey. Time is clicking gradually. The first quarter has begun. By God’s grace, other quarters will come and go too.
Time waits for no one. Time clicks away selfishly without waiting for anyone. Time cares about itself alone. You must invest time judiciously. It’s up to the man or woman who desires change to meet up with ever moving time. You must make your day count. Don’t just count the days.
(Continues next edition)
