Everything changed on a sidewalk in Rome, when my brother Lorenzo brought me in front of “Strategy and Tactics”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A place that, if you’re not at least a bit of a nerd, is about as fascinating as filing a tax return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But that is where I realized that the idea I had in my head was potentially very dangerous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And the fault lay with regattas, of all things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It wasn’t because of the shop’s contents\u2014an endless series of board game boxes of every type: strategy, management, war games, role-playing games, collectible card games (like Magic: The Gathering), non-collectible cards, miniature games, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The epiphany was discovering that before the word “tactics” came “strategy”. And that the order was not accidental.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But I thought only the second one mattered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And here we get to sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a racer, I had seen that one of the “cool” roles\u2014one of those roles where the boats that want to win call in the “America’s Cup hotshots,” almost on par with the helmsman\u2014is the tactician.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Damn, the tactician is the one who says to the helmsman: “TACK!” and he tacks. He’s the one who says: “Let’s hold this tack for a couple more minutes and then gybe,” and that’s how things go. In short, he’s the one who knows more than anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ergo, tactics are the most important thing there is!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Where was my conceptual error? I wasn’t taking into account that tactics on a boat are “the most important thing” only because what comes before\u2014the strategy\u2014has already been defined upstream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What is the strategy in a windward-leeward race? To go from the starting line to the windward mark, then to the leeward mark, then back to the windward one, etc., staying ahead of the others as much as possible in one-design racing, or going faster than your rating in handicap racing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you eliminate this aspect, it is easy to fall into the bias: if I have to arrive first, then I must go as fast as possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If one limits themselves to tactics (how can I go as fast as possible in these circumstances?), while sailing with 15 knots of wind upwind, you might think that bearing away 90 degrees and hoisting the gennaker could actually double your speed: damn, brilliant move!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Too bad you’re going in the wrong direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How do you know it’s wrong? Because the strategy is defined: go towards the windward mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now, in a windward-leeward race, the strategy (the course) is imposed by the Race Committee. In business, however, you have to invent the “course” (market\/positioning) yourself. That is, in business, unlike in a regatta, if you get the strategy wrong, you have built a course that leads nowhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unfortunately, in communication, a lot of companies think like unaware racers. Importance is given to tactics instead of strategy. It happened to me and to us at LLiquida too: no one can cast the first stone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But we can understand why certain stones should be thrown (at least for a second).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are the proposals I receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is a viral trend: let’s talk about this so they follow us. Ah, now blogs on Instagram transformed into images with text are working. We must be on LinkedIn! Let’s make videos for YouTube. Let’s buy a page of advertising. Let’s take a stand at the boat show. Let’s send a press release\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In itself, none of these actions is either good or bad; therefore, they can be good investments on one hand, or bloodbaths on the other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The first question that discriminates which operation makes sense is: what goal do you want to achieve? In other words: what is your windward mark?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Do you want people to know and trust your brand? Do you want them to discover a new product? Do you want them to remain fascinated by a commercial proposal “that you can’t refuse”?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In short, if you don’t start with strategy, you can tack on every wind shift or always cover your nearest opponent, but you’ll do nothing but spin your wheels. Your boat might be the fastest in the fleet, but if you miss the mark, the one who went slowly\u2014but in the right direction\u2014will get to the finish line first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Before deciding which sail to hoist or which social platform to launch on, it might be worth sitting down at the chart table and plotting the course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you\u2019d like to take a fix on your position together, we are here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n