The Entrepreneur and the Strategic Planner: when do they complete each other?
In our previous article, we demonstrated that, although the job market is nowadays focusing on searching for specialists, having a generalist profile is not necessarily absurd. There are indeed a few positions where being a jack of all trades has its perks. We identified two representative professions: the entrepreneur and the strategic planner.
In order to avoid any misinterpretation of what we were trying to achieve previously, it is important to keep in mind that the goal of this series is not to prove that one profile is better than the other. Our sole intent is to provide our readers with some useful insights on how the roles in the job market may evolve, and the importance of maintaining diversity as a way to find solutions in a working environment.
Everyone has an interpretation of what “jack of all trades” means
Let us begin by defining more precisely what a jack of all trades looks like in the professional world. We previously cited Oxford’s dictionary on the definition of a generalist, who is “a person competent in several different fields or activities.” This does not mean that to be considered as a jack of all trades, one must be both a plastic surgeon and a cardiologist at the same time. We are referring to “a with a diverse and high-level knowledge of all the components in , but possess an in-depth, powerful expertise in one or two categories,” as Sean Kim, entrepreneur and founder of thegrowthlist.com, describes. Kim names this type of profile a “T-Shaped Individual”, the horizontal bar representing the areas of high-level knowledge whereas the vertical bar depicts the disciplines in which this Individual demonstrates a powerful expertise.
What should an Entrepreneur focus on in order to be successful?
Achieving the goal or living the dream of being the head of a prosperous company is not going to happen instantly. One will have to invest quite a bit of time and effort into learning and improving on new aspects of business. One such entrepreneur actually invented a program to help other entrepreneurs develop their businesses. Bob LaLoggia suggests his “Geek in a Week” program to ensure that no component of the business is ignored. According to him, business can be broken into these five basic components: marketing, sales, support, finance and technology. In order to make sure nothing is forgotten, entrepreneurs should “dedicate one week to each component and four hours each day to that aspect of business.” Dedicating time and energy to these components can be achieved in varied ways. Ideally, entrepreneurs should learn at least the basics of each one. However, when challenges become very specific, like developing a website or securing the company’s intellectual property, it could be more efficient to get help from specialists of these activities. This is why building and maintaining a strong network of people with different skills and competencies is essential. It should be an entrepreneur’s first concern, along with making sure the company has enough resources to survive.
Resourcefulness when faced with unexpected issues: why a strategic planner could be the answer
US-based entrepreneur Chelsea Berler states the following: “Even if you’re not running a startup, you may have similar needs. Some industries are always volatile and require the assistance of someone comfortable with change. Or you might be planning a business relocation and want help adjusting to the new area.” In the business industry, founders have to be prepared to face the unexpected. This is exactly where a strategic planner could help. The more time spent on finding solutions, the less the company is able to focus on the development of its products or services. A strategic planner is capable of looking quickly for information and highlighting patterns in order to detect obstacles and prevent huge mistakes. All these strings in the same bow allow a company to adapt faster and to avoid potentially hazardous situations.
The power of data at the service of companies
It is common for entrepreneurs to have a strong vision of the service or the product they want to sell. However, because of this deep conviction and the eagerness to getting started, they often do not plan with the target market in mind. Some entrepreneurs, when asked what their market is, tell stories like “I have three different targets: the stylish teenager, the dynamic housewife and the family guy.” The temptation of reaching everyone in the population is normal, but it will dilute the energy put into promoting the product. With proper data analysis, thanks to the work of a planner for example, one can determine the core target in order to adapt a product or communication tool. Data is so powerful that it can sometimes help an entrepreneur to understand that his or her target is, for example, 25 to 35 year old women, using a particular app on their smartphone to find information about the type of product the company is selling. They spend 5 minutes every day on this fashion e-commerce site, they prefer Indian food and they listen to Lady Gaga. According to a study published in the May 2015 issue of the Harvard Business Review, while most of us appreciate that we share data while browsing the Internet, very few of us really know what kind of information is transmitted. “On average, only 25% of people knew that their data footprints included information on their location, and just 14% understood that they were sharing their web-surfing history too.”
In the Mass Media era, when entrepreneurs and advertisers were all but blindly shouting to the world, it would have been a dream to have such knowledge. Indeed, nowadays, data analysis enables the company to be active where people are, not where media is found, and it can help entrepreneurs to reach and engage the early adopters who are potential brand ambassadors.
Our next article will focus on the marketing and communications industry where technology is making digital planners more and more important in the strategic process of the brands.
Sources:
http://www.thegrowthlist.com/jack-of-all-trades/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/237921
http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/242798
http://fr.slideshare.net/griffinfarley/strategic-planning-in-advertising-2002276
https://hbr.org/2015/05/customer-data-designing-for-transparency-and-trust
Photo credit: Robert R. Donovan, CC License 2.0
Intriguing series and a very interesting article.
I'd like to add something about the role of strategic planner. It's a 100% true that this role helps "to detect obstacles and prevent huge mistakes" especially in a complex market environment.
However, there is often the misconception that strategic planning is more of an administrative and intellectual activity.
I think that avoiding costly problems requires a healthy mix of intellectual capabilities and practical experience.
I like to compare the strategic planners with a fire brigade. In order to extinguish a fire the fire fighter needs to understand in what environment he operates and then he needs to DO IT...