A strategist is combination of a symphony composer and conductor -- you have to know the sounds that are capable from the instruments, how to arrange them and the music they play, and how to juxtapose and coordinate for maximum effect on the audience.
In business, a strategist is one part scout, one part politicer, one part well-antennaed listener. A strategist knows the ins and outs of available resources and capabilities, can feel/understand the direction that the market is moving and has a great sense of timing. Most strategists also have a vision. Some CEOs are naturally strong strategists (Rupert Murdoch/News Corp, Ted Turner/TimeWarner, Andy Grove/Intel) and some CEOs have a key strategist on their executive team (Bill Gates/Microsoft (guessing), Bill Clinton/US (he loved his strategist Dick Morris).
With the right strategy, the expenses of doing business (both financial and emotional) are SIGNIFICANTLY reduced.
The 3 B's to great strategy are:
Be Bold. Do the unthinkable. Do the opposite of what people may expect. Stun your competitors. Make it impossible for people to say no to buying your product. Sun Microsystems did this a couple of years ago when it released much of the software source code for Java. Most software companies would keep their code and not shore it, using the code as a profit maker. But Sun wanted to drop Microsoft down a notch and decided to set a standard for both cross-platform programs and for easy to use programming tools for novices and experts alike. So, they let the profits from Java go in order to set an industry standard that may well open up the architecture of the PC and Intranet industry. It will take several more years for this bold strategy to pay off, but when it does....
Be Better. Whatever you do, make sure it's at least 30% better than what anyone else is doing. Challenge yourself and your team to deliver on the promises of your goods and services and to do so at a level that's noticeably, and measurably, better than anyone else in your field. Incremental/marginal isn't enough for most stragegies to work and take on a life of their own. Example: AOL. In it's first several years, AOL did "it" better than Compuserve - easier interfaces, trendier content, lots of chat rooms, positive press.
Be Beneficial. Whatever you're planning, it needs to BENEFIT (really, really benefit) a group of people, not just impress or control them. So much so, that they feel it and notice where it came from. You can still be selfish and focus on profits, but without a LOT of people personally benefitting and giving you credit, you won't get very far. Example: Coach University (hey, why not!). We seek to double the benefits that our customers receive, each year, keeping the tuition the same. That's a big part of our strategy. We spend far more time on that than on marketing.
Every executive/business owner/professional/coach DOES have a strategy they are using, but few have articulated it and rarely do they spend enough time improving it. When I have a vision or have a goal that I want to achieve, I first ask myself "How do I want to get that to happen easily and permanently?" Then, I refer to the 3 B's above and get to work, creating an environment in which results can occur vs merely taking linear action steps. Action IS required, of course, but surprisingly little action is required when the strategy is well done. It's unnerving how very quickly results can occur, with seemingly little effort, when your strategy is bang on.
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