#strategic-alignment

#strategic-alignment

When Nokia was still the king of mobile phones in the late 2000s, its strategy seemed bulletproof. It was everywhere. It had the tech; it even had the market share. But as consumer preferences started shifting, internal teams couldn't agree on whether to invest in Symbian improvements, hardware design, or a new platform. On top of that, leadership failed to align engineers, designers, and market planners. Slowly but surely, Nokia started losing ground.

The challenge is that most plans are unnecessarily complex, which makes them difficult to execute. Instead, entrepreneurs can simplify this process by focusing their entire business vision on a single, powerful one-word theme for the year. This one-word business plan then acts as a strategic compass as opposed to a rigid map. Focusing on your one word will help the team stay aligned throughout the year and guide every action.

User research insights often fail to drive organizational change because they are not connected to business objectives, making it difficult for stakeholders to recognize their potential impact.