Cultivate Strategic Discipline

In this article we unpack the 3rd benefit of Dynamic Strategic Management (DSM):

Benefit 3 – Develops Strategic Discipline

Strategic discipline is crucial for success and DSM helps create it. It involves making tough choices and saying ‘no’ to good things in order to prioritize the few crucial tasks that will ensure success today and tomorrow.

DSM provides a framework for rigorously evaluating new initiatives and determining what needs to be phased out. This process involves identifying end-of-life products, underperforming tasks, and outdated scopes of work that are no longer as impactful as the new priorities.

But here’s the key: it’s not just about eliminating things unrelated to the organization’s mission, but rather eliminating things that are less relevant or impactful than the most important tasks.

This requires organizations to identify the few game-changing initiatives and focus wholeheartedly on them.

Every action taken should be made with the strategic objectives in mind. This requires constant adjustments and sacrifices along the way, putting maximizing mission impact by realizing the vision of the strategic plan above less important work.

If you find it challenging to cultivate strategic discipline, start by asking a simple question: “What Should We Stop Doing?”

Incorporating this question into routine work helps create room and capacity to prioritize strategic tasks. It also fosters a habit of aligning organizational actions with what truly matters in the current environment.