Think First, Spend Later
Why Good Strategy Starts with Research
Too many strategic moves are just well-packaged guesses.
Big hires. New markets. Product launches. They sound bold, but without research, they’re often expensive missteps.
Good strategy doesn’t start with action. It starts with clarity.
Here’s how to test your thinking before you commit time or money.
Ask "should we?" before "how do we?"
The biggest waste isn’t poor execution - it’s solving the wrong problem really well.
Before you act, ask:
· What’s the real issue here?
· Do we know there’s demand, or are we assuming?
· Is this the best use of resources now?
Pause early. It saves pain later.
Look for friction points fast.
You don’t need full pilots. But you do need reality checks.
Try:
· Talking to target users
· Shadowing operations
· Creating quick prototypes
· Running back-of-envelope numbers
· Checking compliance
If it’s going to break, let it break small.
Watch what people do, not just what they say.
Stakeholders will nod in meetings. Clients will say nice things.
That’s not data.
Look for behaviour:
· Do they buy?
· Do they use it?
· Do they stick around?
· Do they come back?
Evidence beats enthusiasm and actions speak louder than words.
Get external perspective.
Founders often sit too close to the problem.
Fresh eyes see blind spots. It’s difficult to look at what you do and how you do it and judge how it could be better, when you’ve worked hard.
Bring in:
· Strategic peers
· Neutral advisors
· Market researchers
You don’t need to go it alone. A problem shared is a problem halved. Fresh thinking and no skin in the game can result in the advice you didn’t know you needed.
Research isn’t delay. It’s direction.
The goal isn’t to slow you down.
It’s to stop you from charging down the wrong path.
Think first. Check the ground. Then move with confidence and clarity, and actions you can work towards. It’s important, however, not to confuse research with overplanning, or analysis paralysis. These can be as damaging as not researching at all.
