<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none;" alt="" src="https://px.ads.linkedin.com/collect/?pid=1110556&amp;fmt=gif">
Skip to content
Meet Our Experts Customize My Content Contact Us
      May 30, 2025

      Strategy Whiplash: Are You Chasing Squirrels or Building a Lasting Business?

      SPM Mythbusters Series

      3 min read

      Written by: Brian Nathanson
      Key Takeaways
      • Don't let shiny new ideas and quick fixes distract you; a true strategic focus is long-term, spanning three to five years.
      • KeyResist the urge to chase every trend; fear of missing out (FOMO) drives many bad decisions.
      • Establish strong leadership, making tough decisions based on knowledge and experience, not just data.

      How many times have you seen it happen? A CEO attends a conference, gets fired up about a new idea, and declares, "We're doing this now!"

      The team scrambles to implement the idea, only for the CEO to find the next shiny object a few months later, abandoning the first initiative before it ever had a chance.

      The strategy merry-go-round

      This constant shifting of priorities isn't strategy; it's strategy exhaustion. It's a sign of a company with people who don't understand what strategy truly means.

      The myth of constant change

      The issue is a failure to connect individual actions to a broader, strategic goal. If maximizing revenue in the U.S. becomes the sole focus for the firm, the bigger strategic picture gets lost. You need a comprehensive view, one that enables all employees to see how their efforts help achieve team objectives.

      By establishing this visibility, you are more likely to see what can be achieved, and have each member acting as a singular force. To achieve long-term business growth, ensure that every action is deliberate and make strategic choices.

      What's your enduring advantage?

      Ask yourself:

      • What business are we really in?
      • What's our unique value proposition?
      • What's our competitive advantage?

      Move from shiny object syndrome to strategic focus

      1. Document your objectives. Make sure that all of your managers, from top to bottom, can use the material and truly understand what you seek to accomplish.
      2. Make your bets clear. People can see the benefit of your bet if the organization’s goals are in clear view.
      3. Hold leaders accountable. Make no mistake: Leaders can make mistakes. They can make the wrong bets, and even be focused on the wrong races. Leaders and teams need to understand what went wrong, and communicate honestly about the lessons that can be learned.

      Don't get caught in the strategy whiplash cycle. Focus on building a lasting business, not on chasing every shiny object that comes along.

      Tag(s): ValueOps , Clarity , Strategic Portfolio Management , SPM

      Brian Nathanson

      Brian Nathanson is a recovering certified Project Management Professional now serving as the Head of Product Management Clarity at Broadcom. He is the host of several popular Clarity-related customer webcasts (Office Hours, Release Previews, and the End-to-End Modern UX Demos) and has conducted many hours of both...

      Other resources you might be interested in

      icon
      Office Hours October 23, 2025

      Rally Office Hours: October 9, 2025

      Discover Rally's new AI-powered Team Health Widget for flow metrics and drill-downs on feature charts. Plus, get updates on WIP limits and future enhancements.

      View Recording
      icon
      Course October 23, 2025

      AAI - Navigating the Interface and Refining Data Views

      This course introduces you to AAI’s interface and shows you how to navigate efficiently, work with tables, and refine large datasets using search and filter tools.

      Go to Training
      icon
      Office Hours October 23, 2025

      Rally Office Hours: October 16, 2025

      Rally's new AI-driven feature automates artifact breakdown - transforming features into stories or stories into tasks - saving time and ensuring consistency.

      View Recording
      icon
      Blog October 22, 2025

      What’s New in Network Observability for Fall 2025

      Discover how the Fall 2025 release of Network Observability by Broadcom introduces powerful new capabilities, elevating your insights and automation.

      Read Blog
      icon
      eBook October 22, 2025

      Modernizing Monitoring in a Converged IT-OT Landscape

      The energy sector is shifting, driven by rapid grid modernization and the convergence of IT and OT networks. Traditional monitoring tools fall short.

      Read eBook
      icon
      Blog October 22, 2025

      Your network isn't infrastructure anymore. It's a product.

      See why it’s time to stop managing infrastructure and start treating the network as your company's most critical product. Justify investments and prove ROI.

      Read Blog
      icon
      Blog October 22, 2025

      The Network Engineers You Can't Hire? They Already Work for You

      See how the proliferation of siloed monitoring tools exacerbates IT skills gaps. Implement an observability platform that empowers the teams you already have.

      Read Blog
      icon
      Blog October 8, 2025

      Nobody Cares About Your MTTR

      This post outlines why IT metrics like MTTR are irrelevant to business leaders, and it emphasizes that IT teams need network observability to bridge this gap.

      Read Blog
      icon
      Blog October 8, 2025

      Tag(ging)—You’re It: How to Leverage AppNeta Monitoring Data for Maximum Insights

      Find out about tagging capabilities in AppNeta. Get strategies for making the most of tagging and see how it can be a game-changer for your operations teams.

      Read Blog