Creating Focus: The importance of setting 2-3 clear and simple priorities
For both consulting and creating, focus is incredibly important. Knowing what you’re trying to achieve and understanding your priorities is essential for how you direct your work.
The problem:
With any project, you have restricted resources to achieve your goals as efficiently and effectively as possible.
All good businesses and the very best creators define a limited set of strategic priorities
Creating a strategic focus defines how you will allocate your time and investment. It defines the actions you take and what you will achieve as a creator.
In order to determine your focus you can only ever have two to three priorities as a single individual or a single project - anymore than this and your focus will be diluted so that you are no longer able to achieve your priorities effectively.
Important: Tied to each of your strategic priorities will be a value proposition that is directly related to your aim. This is the rationale for strategic priority.
Here are some examples of strategic priorities and their linked value proposition:
Business Example: Disney
for the past 15 years has had a focus on three key priorities:
Investment in creativity: particularly Branded content - recognisable high quality content that drives sales (e.g. acquisition of Marvel and Pixar)
Use of Technology to enable improved content and improved audience reach - you can see this in Disney plus - increased customers
Grow Globally - this has manifested in opening Theme Parks such as China and Hong Kong - broader brand recognition
Consulting Project Example: Finance System Implementation
Design a new finance system to increase automation & efficiency - decreasing FTE to carry out processing
Deploy the system to all operating companies within the organisation - standardise data for management decisions
Train end users - ensure system is used effectively
Creator Example 1: Jack Butcher - Visualise Value:
Invest time in simple visualisation to share on social media. Value: Proof of the capabilities to simply and visually communicate an idea - increased follows on social media
Development of of community platform sustained by exclusive content: Value proposition: Engaged customers, contributing to the ideas of the business
Development of paid for content such as training courses: leveraging engaged audience to increase revenue
Creator Example 2: Harry Dry - Marketing Examples
Development of marketing case studies, circulated as a Newsletter. Value: Core product offering value in return for engagement
Short form content based off of long form case studies: Circulate to other forms of social media to increase newsletter followers.
Find relevant affiliates to market through Newsletter and Site. Value: Revenue creation
Summary
Multinational businesses, large projects and creators, are successful when they have a small set of strategic priorities. It’s worth taking the time to clarify what yours are.
Further Reading
This is just my take. Please check out @Jus10McGill, @halvorson, @SHurleyHall for more specific and detailed guidance on developing a Content Strategy.
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Once you decide your 2-3 strategic priorities, build a plan to make it happen.
This will be the focus of my next newsletter: