Over dinner with Ted, the retired founder/CEO of a successful company in the electric power sector, I heard an interesting story with a widely applicable lesson.

Never needed to do any marketing or strategy work…

Ted co-founded an engineering company that developed and implemented sophisticated control systems for industrial and utility power systems. Let’s call the company “Sorettah.”

After recruiting, training, and retaining a superb team of engineers, the company delivered consistently valuable results for its clients. It didn’t take long for word-of-mouth in their industry to send plenty of business their way.

After many years in business, Ted and his partner sold the company to a group of employees and stayed on the board.

“In board meetings, I came to realize that our team took pride in never having had to do any selling or marketing. That worked really well, until it didn’t.”

Then our world changed

The new employee-owners never questioned that Sorettah could continue in the same markets and do business the same way indefinitely.

 A vulnerability they didn’t spot was that a substantial portion of their revenue came from a handful of customers that build power systems around the equipment made by Manufacturers B and C. Sorettah’s expertise was tied to those equipment brands.

Manufacturer A bought two of those customers and switched their equipment purchases exclusively to A’s products. That put a quick end to any new Sorettah projects with those customers.

Sorettah’s owners were shocked. They found themselves at a loss about how to break out of a suddenly weakened market position.

Proactively planning for how a company’s world could change

To earn the great outcomes leaders desire, I advise:

• Getting fresh outside perspective on what’s changing among customers and non-customers
• Scheduling time to work through scenarios of how things could develop, and plan for a strong future, rather than delay externally-focused strategic planning until disruptive change arrives.
• Uncovering Hidden Value (where the company already adds more value than either company personnel or prospects / customers recognize, and out-communicate competitors.
• Finding a monster to slay for customers, or enabling customers to slay one for their customers.
• Developing something powerful enough to justify prospects and customers changing from the status quo

Because many industry environments and market requirements are dynamic, change is coming to many companies’ customers whether they like it or not. By moving faster than bigger competitors to meet new or evolving needs, and message to them, there’s an excellent chance of making major gains.

Even if a competitive picture has been relatively static, there may be tremendous changes coming that create opportunities for companies to add Bigger Value.  

Forging a New Future

I recognize that implementing the recommended steps above is not easy for execs to do on their own.

That’s why I created Forge the Future.

It’s help for business leaders, especially when their companies are at a critical transition point. They see big changes ahead in their markets, and are unsure about where their business will be in 3 to 5 years. For example, their concerns may include:

• Feeling pressure from the Board of Directors to do something different to grow faster and avoid getting left behind as markets shift
• Challenged to integrate past and future acquisitions into a clear market strategy and go-to-market plan, or else live without the synergies they’re counting on
• Struggling to differentiate from their competitors, which means not enough yeses and flat or declining margins

 In Forge the Future, my teammates and I assist business leaders to create several outcomes:

• They find ways to create Bigger Value and find more promising market segments for the future.
• They systematically prioritize their growth opportunities and focus their investments and best people where they have the highest probability of paying off big.
• They go from too many strategy options whirling around in their heads to feeling clarity and confidence that everyone on their team is focused on the critical few.

 Ultimately, they’ll harness their team’s strengths and find the few missing pieces that hold back bigger results. 

If you, or someone you know, have interest in learning more, I invite you to head over here.