Five ideas for quickly and realistically assessing the addressability of strategic topics

Strategy is the decision to focus on an addressable challenge or opportunity. I wrote about focus in the last blog post. Choosing one requires judgment and information.

But what is addressable? With a little imagination, you could say pretty much anything. If someone manages to send rockets into space and at the same time build a globally recognized brand for electric cars, then there can be no limits to addressability.

On the other hand, everyone knows about the initiatives and projects that nobody likes to talk about. Things that didn't work, even though so much was done right. This means that even small processes that have already been used several times can suddenly get out of kilter. All it takes is one case that deviates from the standard to not fit into the grid.

Now, when you collect topics for challenges or opportunities, you have an assessment to make. An assessment of the feasibility and potential. Possibly also about interactions with other activities.

The assessment can often be made quickly. You can set up a team or hire external consultants, but you still need the answer in minutes rather than months.

A little warning up front. According to Kaneman, we humans tend to greatly underestimate the effort involved. Our accurate memory fades somewhat and we are often overly optimistic about new things. If I remember correctly, a factor of 5 is often the norm when it comes to time or budget.

What helps you to assess the addressability of topics?

1. Past successes or failures

In workshops, I like to start with past successes. Everyone likes to talk about them and give their perspective on the success levers. I like to look at the size of the potential (because small, easy topics indicate limited addressability of larger topics). And the degree of coordination required throughout the organization or with external parties.

Coordination is often difficult to achieve in large organizations. This is due to different objectives or the nature of the business units. If past successes indicate a strong ability to coordinate across silos, then it is a good sign.

2. Topics within the industry

If an opportunity lies within the industry in which your organization operates, the chances of creating value there are statistically higher than in a new industry. Even if the boundaries are sometimes blurred, your customers know your organization for something. If you suddenly do something different, quite a few customers will be confused.

3. An image for: What's new?

Ask the question: What is new? What experiences do you already have that indicate that you can deal with the new? Specifically name the experiences. This will help you later in your communication when you package the strategy in a story. You can work with an analogy. This strengthens the organization.

4. Look for other role models outside your organization

If you know another organization, preferably from a different industry, that has already tackled a similar topic, get in touch. Ask them to tell you about the requirements and hurdles you can expect when tackling the topic.

5. Ask what is difficult

If you want to elevate a topic to "strategic" status, it should not be a run-of-the-mill issue. Things that your organization does routinely do not fall under the "strategic" label. So a long list of action points that are all great and sunny is not a strategy if they can be implemented routinely. You need a theme where you consciously reallocate resources or make investments accordingly. It's a decision and also a bet because it's based on an assumption.

Assessing addressability requires judgment. Judgment requires observation and experience.