Two-Word Strategy for the Math-Challenged
Business, SMB / SME April 23rd, 2007
Small Business Trends interviews Gary Harpst, CEO and founder of Six Disciplines, LLC on his two-word business strategy. The interview starts with a few examples:
Gary Harpst: Examples of a two-word strategy statement might include:
- Hot Donuts (Krispy Kreme)
- Computers Direct (Dell)
- Quick Automotive Service (Jiffy Lube)
Excuse me? Which word is Jiffy Lube supposed to drop to get down to two? 
Zoli Erdos
Zoli, later he points out in a parenthetical that if not two words, then at least two succinct thoughts. That’s close enough for me. The reason I wrote about it is for the main point: to clarify thinking about the business one is in.
Best,
Anita
Anita, of course I got the point, and agree, the ability to define what you’re all about in a few words is critical. Still, this not being a random sample, I found it ironic that he did not pick “perfect” two-word strategies.
I imagine the notion of a two-word strategy would help a lot of businesses focus their energy more effectively. I wonder how that would scale up to a conglomerate level though? At the highest level, the strategy would have to be “create shareholder value,” with proper two-word strategies existing at the divisional level. Either way, interesting thought experiments…