In the Cannabis business, slow and smooth can be real fast

Aesop’s fable, The Tortoise and the Hare, holds an important lesson for cannabis firms.  In the fable, the slower but dogged tortoise beat the faster but reckless and cocky hare in a race.

In the cannabis industry, market success often flows not to the firm with the best strategy or products but to the company that can execute the best.  This assertion begets a simple yet complex question: how do you execute with excellence?

First, its important to understand why cannabis businesses can’t execute according to expectations?  Among the many explanations, I want to highlight 3 reasons I see most often:

1. Execution is not often a leadership priority.  Creating strategy, hobnobbing with customers is more fun than the messy process of getting shite done.

2. A fetish of speed – Thanks to the tech industry we worship at the altar of the quick (move fast, break things) at the expense of finding the right operational system [sic]. 
 
3. The myth of 'First Mover Advantage' – Being first to market brings some advantages but also exposes and amps up product, operational and channel risks.  Almost always, best to market beats first to market.

Executing well is a multifactorial recipe, part money, talent, tools and norms & practices.  The latter may be the most important factor.  It is also the one area most companies get wrong.  My executional philosophy can be summarized (with a nod to the U.S. Navy Seals) as follows:

“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast”

The operational values that inspire this philosophy include: methodical, friction-free, simple and consistent.  There are many ways of achieving this cadence including:  making operational processes as simple as possible, using standardized tools and inputs, minimizing the number of suppliers, simplifying product design and ensuring the team clearly buys in to its mission, goals and metrics.

There are many benefits of operating slow and smooth:  firms can avoid clumsy errors and duplication of effort, thus minimizing unexpected costs and delays.  You are often able to test ideas and products at critical junctures, thereby de-risking initiatives, refining processes and enabling continuous learning. Finally, these types of operations tend to be more resilient and flexible.
 
No one is suggesting your operations should unnecessarily creep along.  And yes, some market opportunities have aggressive time windows that necessitates speed.  Rather, there is an ideal cadence between reckless action and being overly cautious.  Its up to every COO to find the right mix of activities, human input, automation and product simplicity that meets their business, channel and consumer goals.

#execution #process #operations #processdesign #culture #speed