11 on a scale of 10?

One of the things I detest about most strategic plans is that they involve a bunch of talk and very little “do.” A strategic plan is pretty much worthless unless it results in action, so my thought is, why not just skip all the time-wasting stuff and instead focus on EXECUTION? I’m a bigger fan of guiding principles instead of formal, drawn out, boring strategic plans. If you’d like to hear more about my rationale, here you go.

One of the best case studies in how guiding principles can be turned into powerful, ACTIONABLE battle cries can be found from current AMAOKC president and social media strategist, Brian Blake. He fired up his leadership team last year with ONE guiding principle, which is “Turn it up to 11,” as in, “Shoot for a performance of 11 on a scale of 10 for everything the chapter does.” He got the idea from this Spinal Tap piece (Click here for a good laugh!) and MAN, has it ever been effective! In fact, for a mind-blowing, complete list of all the chapter has done for its members in 2010-11, check this out. Mr. President, a tip of the hat to you, sir!

I bragged on Brian’s leadership and on the incredible value being delivered in a previous post and I expect he will earn incredible, unprecedented recognition from AMA Headquarters in Chicago in their annual Chapter Excellence Awards, so I congratulate him and his capable team in advance for that success!

Good marketing is all about RESULTS! Guiding principles can literally become the battle cry that leads to success, so think about how to use this powerful tool!