Everyone knows that Nike sells shoes, but are audiences clear on what the brand’s purpose is? According to Nike’s ecommerce site, its purpose is to “bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world.” This lofty goal is orders of magnitude above merely outfitting shoppers in new sneakers, but the two tracks are clearly aligned. The brand strategy of selling athletic shoes and apparel is its method of bringing innovation to athletes—Nike-branded home appliances or automobiles would not achieve this. So in this simple example, it is clear that a business’ strategic goals must be in harmony with its essential reason for being.
On the new episode of the Dragonproof Podcast, “How To Create An 'Aligned' Business Strategy,” host Rick Wilson digs into the critical concept of business alignment by posing these three questions:
- Does your business’ core purpose personally motivate you as its leader, and what does it implicitly promise to your audience?
- Can you not only grow scale but also succeed in achieving that vision with the outcome of your sales strategy
- Does the business structure itself - the way you organize and treat your employees, the way you make your products reflect and promote the core purpose as well?
The three answers here should support one another, but threading the needle proves difficult for most companies, including Nike. Complaints about labor practices have followed Nike for decades, and just last year the brand made a new commitment to selecting sourcing partners with holistic labor principles. This demonstrates that if a business’ structural modality does not line up with its purpose and sales strategy, all three are compromised.
Of course, 2020 and 2021 have necessitated endless adjustments to business models and structures, if not core purpose. Wild swings in demand and impaired supply chains have altered everything from resource management to pricing to ecommerce holiday prep. Meanwhile, the shift to remote work culture has changed how employers think about and serve their workers’ needs. However, assessing and course correcting for these changes is not limited to ecommerce businesses, or to this era. The concepts are evergreen across industries and time periods.
“If your business model is out of alignment, you will fail,” Rick says, “You have to constantly be checking to see if your structure, purpose, and strategy align. It is not something you set and forget...it’s something you do over and over again, daily, weekly, monthly. A constant realignment is always required to make sure your business is in tune with itself.”
To hear Rick’s full conversation about how to align your business for maximum success in 2022, please visit: https://www.dragonproof.us/
