Keep It Strategic, Simon

It’s all about Momentum. Methodically, one step after another, gradually build Momentum.

Work with what you have, invest it intelligently to get more. Then reinvest.

Follow the same principles: Contact, Cultivate, Commit, Coordinate. Everything that you build using the resources that you collect along the way has to stay within this formula. Don’t get deviated at any point to doing things that do not contribute to this strategic focus or you will lose momentum.

Don’t do anything “for the sake of doing it”, because “it’s a good idea”, because “it will please the devotees”, or in other words without a clear and rigorous understanding of how it fits in to this strategy. Each step has to have the following characteristics:

1. Strategic - this means that it contributes to the pipeline by either creating the next step in the pipeline or enhancing an existing one.
2. Sustainable - this means that you can sustain it without destroying your existing team or overly depleting your resources.
3. Synchronous - it’s all about timing. When you push a swing, if you push at the right time, it will go higher. Push at the wrong time, and you’ll stop it dead. Do the right thing at the right time to increase momentum. Do even a “right thing” (sustainable and strategic) at the wrong time and watch everything stop dead in its tracks. See this article of mine for a description of the symptoms of asynchronous ailments.

It’s all about creating, sustaining, and increasing momentum.

It’s kind of like playing Katamari Damacy. Not that I’ve ever played it, or even seen it, but I’ve heard enough about it to know what it is.

You have to have people with strategic leadership aptitude who can analyze each step to make sure that it will contribute to momentum, and isn’t simply a misstep. You have to measure things carefully and step back if you do take a misstep, and quickly, or you can get bogged down.