.A winning firm’s strategy influences every decision an organization makes from what goods or services are provided, to how they are provided, how much it costs, and even who is hired. Changing strategy means re-evaluating all of that. The changes introduced into all of our lives by SARS-COV-2 and the disease it causes, COVID-19, have impacted every aspect of our lives. Our businesses have not been immune. As a result of the monumental changes in demand and consumer behavior, many businesses have been forced to pivot to a new strategic direction. Far too often, we forget that strategy is as much about what we are NOT doing anymore as it is about what we are doing that is new. 

If the Chicago Bulls decided to start playing hockey, a lot of things would have to change. Granted, there could definitely be some crossover. Accounting, ticket agents, ushers, and security could probably remain in place. Benny the Bull could stay the mascot but the person in the suit would need to change. The point guard, power forward, and center? Those positions would need to be eliminated. In addition, processes and procedures would have to be redesigned. Moving 15 basketball players whose equipment consists of a basketball and tearaway pants requires much different logistics than 23 hockey players who each carry a bag that they themselves could comfortably fit in.I’ve stretched this particular metaphor as far as I am comfortable but I think you get the point. You can’t be a hockey team and a basketball team. 

Pivoting is not a way to keep things the same. It is a wholehearted fundamental shift in the focus of the entire organization. The processes you designed, the people you hired, maybe even your logo, were designed for the game you were playing at the time. When you change the game you are playing, you also have to evaluate everything else. You owe it to your organization to make the tough choices. They have put their livelihoods, and in some cases their lives, in your hands. You are going to have to make sacrifices. The Detroit Pistons organization might really like their logo but it is a giant basketball. It isn’t going to draw a big hockey crowd and you need a crowd to make payroll. You might really like the equipment manager you have, but if he sends the goalie out to the crease in a pair of mesh shorts and a tank top, someone is going to get hurt.

A strategy is as much about what you are not doing anymore as it is about what you are doing that is new. Failure to cut all the ties with what you were doing before will leave you as neither a basketball team nor a hockey team but rather you will just be no longer a going concern...