Scramble: How agile strategy can build epic brands in record time by Marty Neumeier

Author:Marty Neumeier [Neumeier, Marty]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Level C Media
Published: 2018-09-30T22:00:00+00:00

The sky had acquired the color of a solar eclipse. Wispy curls of cirrus clouds shimmered dully in the spaces between buildings. The Prius was waiting at the curb. Sok’s crooked smile faded to a frown as he read David’s body language—slumped shoulders, stiff walk, sideways tie. He jumped out and opened the door.

“Wuzzah, stranger? You look like something the cat threw up.”

David lowered himself into the back and dropped his bag on the seat beside him. “That sums it up perfectly,” he said, leaning back and closing his eyes.

“Tell Mama.”

“The board just ripped me a new one.”

“Poor baby! What happened?”

David let out a long sigh. “As you know, we’ve been working on a new strategy. After three weeks of going round and round, I thought we’d finally nailed it. The board, however, disagreed. Now we’ve got two weeks left. We can either a, build a whole new strategy, or b, prove we were right in the first place. I tell you, Sok, I’m ready to go back to running an architecture firm. At least there I had something to show for a day’s work.”

Sokrates held up a hand. “Whoa, whoa. Slow down. First of all, how good was your strategy?”

“Amazing.”

“Amazing. Meaning fresh, innovative, unique?”

“Yep.”

“Okay, once upon a time, I was a car designer and you were an architect. So, tell me, how did you bring your clients along from the ordinary expectations they started with to a whole new vision?”

“What do you mean?”

“It’s a simple question. How did you change their minds?”

“I never thought about it. I listened, talked, showed sketches, talked some more, made changes, did some pricing, built models, made some more changes. Then they signed off.”

“Right. You worked with them in small steps. Me too. Now, in this case you’ve done all the work behind closed doors—at least from the board’s point of view. Did you ever ask them what they were looking for?”

“No. Andy left it up to me.”

“Okay, so you never asked what their expectations were, you kept them in the dark, and then you sprung a fully formed strategy on them. A bold one, I’m guessing. What did you expect?”

“I guess I expected them to be wowed.”

“I’m sure they were, but not in a good way,” he said, making a comical face in the mirror. “I’ll bet if you’d given them something boring, like a reorg or an ad campaign, they would’ve bought it on the spot. Instead, you gave them…what?”

“An AI-driven—”

“Wait. Don’t tell me. It’s none of my business. You’ll have to kill me afterward.”

David failed to see the humor.

“Look, my man, you have the board at a disadvantage. You’ve been working on the problem solidly for three weeks. You’ve done the deep dive. As a designer, you have skills that most of them can’t even imagine. Go slow. Tell them a story. Show some pictures. Bring them along step by step.”

“What exactly is your advice?”

“Instead of starting over with a different strategy, come back with a better story. But, hey, you’re the CEO.

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