Set your strategy before you act!

I live with a lot of regrets. I am scared of failures in life and that's what these regrets amount to. Does that mean I have failed so far? Life is a long race and it is unjust to call yourself a failure in the short term. Nobody knows how things will pan out in the future and like one of my favorite persons once said, "Life is a culmination of all that you do until you're dead. Death is inevitable, but it sums up all of your life's failures and successes into one single outcome. Hence, don't judge on failures." Guess who said this? It's me. I often become my favorite, hell yes! Just kidding! Anyway, coming back to the point of this post. Some of the common terms while learning strategy in a management class full of mature executives are value creation, value capture, competitive advantage, and roadmap planning. Let's try to dissect each term and correspond to one's personal life.

Value Creation - unlike in a corporate environment where value is created if you are able to maximize profits; if your revenues are greater than the cost of acquiring customers you're probably headed in the right direction or if your profit margin is on the higher side, then your strategies might be working for you. However, replicating this scenario in terms of personal relationships and networks, always try to give back to others if you would like to harness the value in your relationships. But how much do we exactly give and what if our kindness is not reciprocated? Well, the same applies to business situations. If your product isn't good, no matter how much discount you apply to a product, your product won't sell. Similarly, try to build a core personality that shines on the outside. Try to accumulate as much knowledge as you can, help others as much as possible, and spread goodness through your karma. A negative person with a cynical attitude cannot contribute much to others. He doesn't have the charm to motivate nor the passion to guide others positively.

Value Capture - in a market where you've built your presence already, diversification sometimes helps capture greater value and promote additional products under the umbrella of a well-known brand. The different ways of diversification would be conglomerate, horizontal, etc. Similarly, in life, you can always expand your network and grow your brand by diversifying your interests and passions. If you're good to someone and they recommend you, it always works in your favor if you're looking to expand your connection base. A lot of people find jobs by building networks and professional connections. Your professional network rubs off on your personal connections too. That's the essence of the story. Synergy is important and one should always look to enter new avenues or chart new territories in life by leveraging existing connections.

Competitive Advantage - you've got to stay ahead in the race, be aware of others' weaknesses and strengths and create value by offering something different and more valuable in terms of what the market needs. The most important factor here is to understand what the market really needs. If you are able to read the minds of the customers, half your battle is won. Marketing is a lot of consumer psychology, behavior, and economics. And it pays to understand the world around you. Similarly, it is always advisable to understand perspectives in the world when it comes to personal relationships. Severing ties with unwanted people isn't bad. But not unless you've studied their persona entirely. There could be a lot of people who may be a lot different intrinsically and their internal motivations don't let them network easily. They are not so outgoing or friendly and one may feel that they are socially inept, but that's not how it always is. A lot of business leaders aren't socially very active or are introverts, but their work shines out. Likewise, a lot of people that you know are inwards-drifting personalities rather than outwards-orienting and it takes time for them to open up. Give them the benefit of doubt!

Roadmap planning - this is probably the most important part of this article. I wish I had planned my life better and built human relationships to support my longer-term plans. If it doesn't work out for you in your job, you destroy relationships at work and move on. But to drift away is to reduce your network and build negativity around your external presence. There are often companies and products in the business world that vanish or disappear from the market once they start to reduce in quality or precision. Similarly, in personal life, always try to keep your spirits high and work on relationships wherever you are regardless of the outcome.

I wish I had done an MBA 6 years ago. I would have been 30 and a perfect fit for an international MBA. It would have worked a lot better for my career. I would probably have been dwelling in NYC or LA right now and sipping hot macchiato enjoying the splendid weather on the west coast of America. But life had other plans. Wait, did I say life? I made other plans. I was content with my life and didn't see the long-term gains of planning ahead. Had I invested time, effort, and money in doing an MBA early in life, I would have been reaping the fruits of my actions. It's always important to view the larger picture, plan in the long term and then act upon your plans. That's an effective strategy too.

I hope this article has helped you reflect a bit on your life's strategies and has opened a wide range of possibilities in your mind around building an effective long-term strategy for your life and business.