Your Business Playbook is Broken

For many business leaders, we were initiated into the business world based on the principles of a traditional model—and that has remained ingrained in our practices. But times have changed, and I think it’s time for a drastic divergence from the old beliefs. Stated simply: What worked well in the past—that business model you put so much faith in as you were coming up in the industry—isn’t cutting it any longer.

Think of it this way: If you are a coach in the most important game of your life, with high stakes, do you want an outdated playbook with tired plays that the other team has seen before and that isn’t effective any longer? OR, do you want a brand new playbook with plays that are far more advanced—and effective—to give your team an edge over the competition? The clear answer is that you want the modern, innovative version. Because no matter what coaches may say to boost morale, everyone wants to win. Have fun, too, of course, but WIN.

So many businesses today are not winning, however, for the very reason that their traditional playbooks for strategy are no longer sufficient to keep up with the changing times. Competition is fierce, and with the industry becoming more advanced and complex every day, the companies that can adapt will be the ones to come out ahead. Darwin’s rule applies: Adapt or die, and this is the survival of the fittest (and most flexible).

The Traditional Business Playbook Is Tired 

As I mentioned above, the traditional business playbook is done. Initially, it was just fine. It operated on what you’d call a ramp-up type model, where you do step one, step two, step three, step four, step five, and then you get to the top and run your business in that manner. Sounds logical, right? The problem is that I think that playbook is broken, and the way that people are working through and not enhancing their business is a death sentence. Again, Darwin’s teachings resonate: Adapt and evolve!

The problem here is clear. As the people stuck using traditional playbooks are busy building their businesses in that same methodical way, they’re not adapting to the new, dynamic world and realizing how that playbook should evolve.

Adaptation

COVID provides a perfect example of what I’m talking about, highlighting the real crux of the issue. I’ll use the restaurant industry for this article’s purposes, but suffice to say, the same rule applies across industries.

Think about it: What was the restaurant playbook before COVID? Find an excellent chef, have a differentiated restaurant, have a space where people can eat, have a pleasant experience, and have reasonable prices and great food. It’s not really rocket science. But then COVID happens, and restaurants aren’t open. Restaurants had to adapt, which we saw with increased delivery mechanisms, sit-down restaurants shifting to takeout, etc. Those who survived learned to roll with the new regulations and pivot to still turn a profit amid the constant changes of the pandemic.

Resilience

The lesson here is that with regular businesses where you either have a product or a service and create this playbook around those products and services, you must learn to adjust that playbook. As a business, you have to be more adaptive to be resilient, and not only to survive like Darwin says but to thrive. The key to doing this will be mastering flexibility.

So, I am leaving you with a new doctrine of sorts, one that is simple and surefire: You set the mechanism. You understand your customers and their needs. You provide them services, or information, or a product. You train the people that work in that company. When you incorporate these evolutionary areas into your business playbook, you’ll be amazed at the results.