Issue #1: Strategize Up by Troy Sandidge
The first issue of Read, Reflect, Apply is my reflection essay on “Strategize Up: The Simplified Blueprint the Scaling Your Business” by Troy Sandidge. Troy is a B2B strategist and one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter.
He is one of the realest people you’ll find, and the fact that he happens to be an expert in what he does is just icing on the cake of having him in my network. I am a firm believer in monetarily supporting my friends when the opportunity presents itself, so buying his book was a no-brainer.
Knowing how Troy operates, though, this wasn’t just a courtesy purchase. I knew there would be gems in there I could apply right now to my business, and I was proven right to say the least. Here are a few of my favorite takeaways:
- Simple strategies breed scalable and sustainable systems
- Resiliency is raw power
- We all have a social universe
1 — Simple Strategies Breed Scalable and Sustainable Systems
Troy put more actionable value in his introductory chapter than many folks put in their entire book. One of those things were his three “S’s” of successful strategy: simple, scalable, and sustainable.
A simple strategy does not mean a basic one, but rather that the strategy takes the straightest possible line towards its endgame. He outlines the 10 pillars of strategy that serve as a great example of how strategy itself is a high-level concept, but it becomes more manageable and executable when you approach it as 10 smaller strategies that are all working under the same strategic umbrella.
- Business — the overall vision and mission you are trying to accomplish.
- Marketing — encompasses traditional and digital marketing channels
- Brand — the personality and overall ethos of the business
- Growth — the roadmap for scaling the business
- Creative — the plan to incorporate creative innovation initiatives
- Digital — the digital arm of the marketing strategy
- Social — social strategy at the platform-by-platform level
- Content — encompasses all content, including social, advertising, and organic SEO
- Community — focuses on building relationships and fostering a digital “home”
- Sales — The brass tax plan for how the business makes money
This breakdown helped me understand the true complexity of strategy. Each of these is like a component that can be effective on its own, but when all 10 components are together, they unlock an exponential power that dwarfs any individual strategic area.
I am in the process of working out the strategy of my business, KNOWLOMY INC, so this breakdown came at a perfect time. I first plan on writing a philosophical statement on each strategic area, and then eventually fleshing out a framework for each strategy.
2 — Resiliency is Raw Power
Troy does a great job of weaving resiliency as a source of power throughout the entire book. It is the foundational power necessary to execute his plethora of tactics.
It is the author’s story that separates the memorable business books from the sea of forgettable thought leadership. Troy has an authentic essence of resilience about him because of the health odds he overcame to be where he is today.
So many business books say you have to be resilient in business, but the way Troy framed it really made me feel that power.
It is important to me as someone who is diagnosed with ADHD and Bipolar. I had to rebuild my life at 24 with two mental illnesses. Sometimes I feel like I am silly for wanting more than I have when I have already come so far from my date of diagnosis.
Reading how Troy talked about the power of resiliency makes me want to add the question “how was I resilient this week?” to my weekly reflection journaling.
3 — We All Have a Social Universe
Troy called our digital presence our social universe. It encompasses things like:
- Social media profiles
- Website
- Digital colleagues
- Digital friends
- Digital acquaintances
- Fans
- Digital role models
This really stuck out to me because I have been feeling lately that my digital presence needed a bit of a rebrand.
I noticed I was trending towards a lot of broadcasting on Twitter and to a lesser degree on LinkedIn, and kind of slacking on really engaging with other people’s posts conversationally.
I also realized I was slacking on platforms like TikTok and Clubhouse because I have a natural tendency to scoff at the tech I don’t personally find valuable, as most of us do.
My takeaway from this holistic perspective of digital presence is to make a general effort to stop limiting myself and challenging myself to do video and be on platforms like TikTok.
30-Day Goal #1: The 10 Pillars of Strategy
The first takeaway was the most valuable to what I am currently doing. I am in the process of launching a business while also scaling my ghostwriting services, so getting more familiar with the 10 pillars of strategy seemed like the best goal.
My plan for these articles is to end with a S.M.A.R.T. goal based on the takeaway most valuable to my current situation. The “T” will always be 30 days, at which point I will write a follow-up feedback article.
My goal is to create a “strategic philosophy” document for each of the 10 pillars of strategy in relation to KNOWLOMY INC over the next 30 days. These documents will serve as the “north star” as I build out each of these strategies for my business.
The next book on my list is The Procrastination Equation by Piers Steel.