Stay True to Your Strategic Core

Imagine this: your company's markets itself as a purveyor of healthy, simple meals. Your soups are low-sodium, you educate consumers about whole grains on your website, and you partner with the American Heart Association to help wipe out heart disease. You've also been selling luxury chocolates for 40 years, bringing in a hefty profit by keeping the brands separate to the consumer eye. If it's worked for 40 years, why change it?

You may have guessed we're talking about Campbell's Soup Co. selling it's high-end Godiva line to remain true to the company's strategic core of representing health and simplicity -- a refreshing change from the many profit-driven mergers that only serve to dilute brands' strategies. Of course, there's another obvious reason to unload Godiva; marketing new chocolate products hurt Campbell's bottom line this year. But as an added bonus, the sale will also give Campbell's product portfolio additional focus and clarity.

This might be a perfect opportunity to reread your company's mission statement, share it with your coworkers and employees, and ask yourself, "Are our current operations and marketing efforts aligned with our overall strategy and core values?"

(Strategy Image by beccafowler, CC 2.0)