I’m a marketing strategist. I can do execution, but it’s not as fun for me, and honestly, I’m not as good at it.  Lots of people like to hold marketers in higher regard if you are a strategy or “big picture” guy, but I don’t think that’s really fair.  Yes, strategy does take a bit more experience than execution, and most at some point were executionalists themselves, but I really don’t think one is any more important than the other.  

If you don’t have both types, your marketing still sucks, so it don’t really matter who does what. 

<– Photo: Bilk. Beer and Milk.  While most strategy problems are far more subtle, this product is proof that fantastic execution is useless without a good strategy… and also that Japanese people are just weird.) 

I give huge kudos to the folks who actually “do stuff” for a living, i.e. the executionalists.  It’s just a different skill set and a different personality type. That’s all. 

I do strategy because my primary motivator is solving problems.  I’ll never be a good CEO because I don’t have that type of vision nor do I have that burning in my belly to make more, do more, or be number 1.  I am a very good leader, but unfortunately, unless somebody tells me what goal they want to achieve (the problem)  I suck.  I flip-flop, I lose interest, I lose motivation, and it shows.  On the other side, I can’t do execution because I have ADD and get really bored once I have figured out the solution to a problem.  Once I have gotten things on the right path, it is virtually impossible for me to stay motivated enough to see the project through to completion. 

On the flipside, decent strategy with poor execution is just as worthless –>

Executionalists, on the other hand, are usually perfectionists in nature, very creative, and get off on the details that really make the difference. They like the rush of getting the job done, and done well. They will spend hours on end getting the best deal on a direct mail campaign, revise and tweak an ad or packaging element for days to get it just perfect.

In general, being the most customer focused, and the ones still around when the campaign finished, executionalists also typically get the most credit for the job - and that’s cool by most strategists. We see it as your just reward for having to do all the crap that we don’t want to or can’t do.

As a strategist, my dream job would be working for a company with lots of problems.  I learn about one, do the due diligence, discover a solution, get the solution ramped up and going, build the team, give the Braveheart speech, get things rolling, and then once it is established and I am 80% sure it is going to work, I hand it over to the executionalists, and take a nap.  They do the last 20%, which usually takes about 80% of the time (which I suck at because by now I am bored) and I can move on to the next problem. 

I still haven’t found that dream job, but I’m always looking.  If you know anyplace like my business Valhalla, please point them in my direction. 

In the next article we will discuss the strengths, weaknesses, and differences between a strategists or an executionalist, and how to decide which is the right choice for the job at hand.

Be cool. See ya soon.