And we're most definitely facing challenges on multiple fronts: economic, societal and technological.
But there's also something timeless about Gartner's statement.
Which they themselves acknowledge: "Despite the seemingly unique challenges of today’s environment, certain essential elements of great executive leadership persist."
One of these essential elements is setting strategy.
At its heart, setting strategy is about making choices. Micheal Porter once described it as "choosing what not to do".
Some have argued that strategic choices are inherently different from the run of the mill choices leaders make all the time. We think they're onto something.
Roger Martin defines strategic choices as "distinctive choices that position your organization to uniquely win".
He also offers a helpful tip to help you determine if your choice fits the bill. It boils down to a simple question: "Is the opposite of your choice stupid on its face?".
He goes on to use customer centricity as an example. It's not uncommon to see "be customer centric" or something similar in a strategy document.
But what's its opposite? Ignore customers entirely? That would be stupid. So that choice is not strategic.
It's still a good choice, though. It just belongs to a different category, which Martin calls "operating imperatives".
These are choices we make to avoid falling behind competitors in an important area.
They often involve doing the same thing as your competitor. Finding the best talent. Getting really good at leveraging data and insights. Building a strong brand.
This is the realm of best practices. But best practices only get you so far.
Strategic choices are the opposite. They're about zigging while others zag. Doing things differently than your competitors.
Which, it goes without saying, is something every marketing leader should be striving for. Lest they end up in the dreaded sea of sameness.
The other thing that distinguishes strategic choices is their difficulty.
The things you are deciding against are more than not stupid. They’re probably downright clever. Someone else is probably already winning by doing them.
This is something Netflix founder Reed Hasting has strong feelings about. He talked about the painful nature of strategic choices in a 2016 interview.
So what's a marketing leader to do?
Start with a cold-eyed assessment of the major choices underlying your current marketing strategy.
Do they pass the stupid test? Do they feel sufficiently painful?
If not, don't despair. You probably don't need to scrap the whole thing. Operating imperatives are important, too.
And it's actually possible to turn them into strategic choices by repeatedly tweaking them to be more and more specific.
Failing that, it's likely a matter of adding a handful of strong strategic choices into the mix.
The good news: there are some great frameworks out there to guide you through this process systematically (though not painlessly).
We're particular fans of Martin's Playing to Win system.
Even more good news: like workouts and dental surgery, the dividends of your pain will be worth it.
Need Help Sharpening Your Strategic Choices?
We've helped many brands and leaders make painful-yet-powerful choices. If this feels like something you could use a bit of help with, drop us a line—it's as easy as replying to this message.
Pause + Reflect is lovingly assembled every second Sunday by Modern Craft, a consultancy dedicated to helping marketing leaders succeed. If you enjoy it, please share it with someone special.
