Cannabis Leaders: Don’t’ Forget Strategy

"Only when the tide goes out do you discover who's been swimming naked." Warren Buffet

For many cannabis firms, cost savings and efficiency initiatives are the ‘New Black’ This is a good thing – if they have the skills and fortitude to pull off meaningful reductions.

These efforts, however, are not enough to deliver long term success. After all, everyone is trying to reduce costs; there is only so much fat to trim and; you can’t cut your way to growth.

MSOs and LPs ultimately rise and fall on their corporate strategy.

In today's operating environment, cannabis managers can’t afford to neglect disciplined strategic thinking or make it a one-off, siloed event.

Sadly, most firms pay little attention to long term strategic considerations such as maintaining business focus, being true to your core competencies, creating sustainable advantage, and having a razor-sharp focus on profitability.

Worse, numerous executives make strategic decisions based on FOMO, internal politics, management incentives or a 'growth at any cost' fetish.

Long term competitiveness ultimately comes down to what your CORPORATE strategy is and how you execute against it.

Your corporate strategy will be the answer to 2 fundamental questions:

1. What business are you in?

It may be a surprise but most weed companies don’t have a good sense of self nor what they are really good (and bad) at.

Corporate schizophrenia is a recipe for brand confusion, politicking and poor resource allocation.

2. How will you compete?

There are a myriad of strategic choices and markets. For example, do you want to be a high-volume, low-cost producer or a highly differentiated, niche player?

Your desired competitive position has major implications for your target segments, value proposition and operating model design.

There are traps with any corporate strategy. One is when senior managers rashly copy the best practices of others, with little regards for their own circumstances and capabilities.

Aping best practices ‘rinse and repeats’ strategic missteps. Business success comes from making the right choices for you not following someone else’s template.

Running annual strategic planning exercises can help but are by themselves insufficient; markets, consumers and technologies change quickly.

Here are 3 things to bring corporate strategy into everyday life:

> Do the work. Align on a winning corporate strategy with enabling systems (eg. metrics, plans & budgets);

> Consider every major initiative or strategic move through your corporate strategy 'lens';

> Regularly explore learnings from initiatives, products, and consumers.

World class firms don’t get caught naked. They balance working ON the business vs. working IN the business.

I help leadership teams solve difficult strategic, cost & organizational problems and capitalize on growth opportunities.

#strategy #planning #execution #corporatepositioning