Comments on: The Strategist Snake Oil

By: Alora

Alora — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 11:17:00 +0000

Therein lies the true issue, as you well know, Josh. No amount of sexy vision or newfangled strategy is really anything substantial if you don’t understand and acknowledge the culture you are working in. When I first wrote this article, that was the source of my frustration. The person I was cleaning up after thought he had his own personal little playground… so he let the weeds take over until he decided to head off to greener pastures. And then I got to be the gardener who came in and cleaned up his mess. And the more I looked around, the more I saw a series of unfortunate cliches. I never finished this series, because it quickly got too frustrating, and everything I started to write quickly turned into a rant.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 06:26:00 +0000

HI Alora,
As someone who is often billed as a strategist I couldn’t agree more on this. This is particularly true in “digital” where the shifts implied in a given strategy most often carry with them enormous behavioral and structural changes. As I recently wrote – Culture eats Strategy for Breakfast.

By: There is No Strategy if You Don’t Manage Your Team | The Pragmatic Populist

Sun, 14 Mar 2010 19:20:13 +0000

[...] week I wrote an opening rant about “strategists.” In the comments that ensued, I am now inspired to clarify what I mean while I continue to write [...]

By: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah Owyang — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:19:53 +0000

Oh thanks for the clarification. that makes sense. We need both strategists and pragmatics that can identify where to go, and then get us there together.

Thanks for taking the time to respond!

By: Alora

Alora — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:58:45 +0000

Jeremiah:

I fully appreciate that a GOOD strategist is looking at the big picture. And it was not my intent to imply that you (or Chris, Charlene or Brian) were snake oil salesmen. My point is that, because of the appeal of ‘social media celebrity’ status, it has helped raise the profile of the strategist role to the point where it is a highly coveted position that far too many people think is far less work than it really is. That was the source of the snake oil salesman reference: people who are riding on the coattails of strategists without putting their money where their mouth is.

You’re entirely right: a good strategist should be looking at the complete view of what it takes to get something done. What I’m saying is that the “strategists” I continue to spend my career cleaning up after would not measure up to your standard of “good,” because they do not do that. They paint grand pictures of a sexy vision, and then neglect to inform anyone of the price tag, the work involved, the resources required, etc. That was what I meant by “snake oil salesman.” Sorry if that was not how I came across.

~Alora

By: Jeremiah Owyang

Jeremiah Owyang — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 01:42:41 +0000

Pragmatic (good focus)

I look forward to your posts. Keep in mind, that a strategist is looking at the big picture, which includes implementation, operations, process, roles, and resources –it’s not just hot air.

Also, if you’re going to call me a snake oil salesman, don’t just infer it, just come out and say it. I’m happy to dialog with you about it –I practice what I preach and come from experience (ran social media at Hitachi Data System)