In business, certain words have quietly slipped onto the “do not use” list. They haven’t been banned outright, but they often get softened, avoided, or replaced with more comfortable alternatives.

Problems are now politely called “challenges.”

Strategy is often dismissed as too rigid or too corporate.

Performance carries baggage from performance management and can make people uncomfortable.

It might feel harmless—why not soften the language to avoid discomfort? But there’s a cost.

Why these words matter

A problem is something that requires a solution. If we refuse to call it what it is, we risk sugarcoating reality and delaying the response.

A strategy is how we make choices and direct energy. Without it, businesses don’t become more agile; they simply drift without focus.

And performance is the evidence that effort produces results. Ignoring it doesn’t make it less important—it just makes it harder to improve.

These words are not the enemy. They are tools. They help us confront reality, make informed choices, and drive results.

A principle to reclaim the language

At Hargreaves Marketing, we believe in the principle of Challenge with Respect.

That means creating a culture where:

Problems are named honestly, not softened.

Strategies can be questioned openly, without defensiveness.

Performance is measured and discussed constructively, not avoided.

Respect matters. It’s not about using blunt words to shut people down. It’s about using clear language to open up better conversations.

Preparing for the moments that matter

Of course, knowing what to say and being ready to say it are not the same thing. When the stakes are high—board meetings, client pitches, leadership discussions—it’s natural to feel pressure.

That’s why we created Rehearse. Record. Go.
It helps leaders and teams prepare for these high-stakes moments: to practice their message, refine their delivery, and walk into the room ready to challenge with respect and with confidence.

Because when the words matter most, preparation makes all the difference.

Consultants often get a bad reputation. Maybe you’ve heard stories of big firms sending in teams of fresh-faced graduates who charge a fortune but leave behind reports that gather dust. It’s no surprise that many SME owners (and their teams) fear the word consultant.

But here’s the truth: not all consultants are the same.

Big Consultancies vs. Independent Experts

The Big Firm Approach

• Large teams, often with young and inexperienced consultants.
• Expensive, structured engagements with generic solutions.
• More focus on strategy than on hands-on support.

The Independent Consultant Approach

• An experienced professional working directly with you.
• Personalised, tailored advice that fits your business needs.
• Practical, hands-on support to help you implement change.

What Does This Mean for SMEs?

If your business has ever struggled with growth, efficiency, or strategy, the right consultant can be an asset, not a burden. The key is choosing someone who understands your business, works collaboratively, and focuses on delivering real results.

How to Spot a Consultant Who Can Actually Help You

They listen before they advise.
They have hands-on experience, not just theories.
They focus on practical solutions, not just PowerPoint slides.
They work with your team, not above them.

Final Thought: Don’t Let the Big Firm Stereotype Put You Off

A skilled independent consultant can bring valuable insights, act as a sounding board, and help drive real change—without the big-firm price tag or bureaucracy.

Have you ever worked with a consultant—good or bad? Share your experiences in the comments!

Recently I had the pleasure of interviewing international governance expert Dr Peter Crow. The transcript is provided in the flipbook below.

Rather than talking now about what you can read in the transcript, what I would like to say is how the experience has reconfirmed my belief in the value of meetings, reflection, walking, thinking, discussing, respectfully challenging, and learning.

These activities are in my opinion essential qualities for business people because they provide the necessary platform for writing, visualising and verbalising thoughts. Often it is only by going through these advanced communication processes that we understand better. Correcting ourselves or allowing ourselves to be advised differently by others is a strength, not a weakness.

The alternative is to choose a snippet of information, reach a conclusion, and make important decisions without seeking further consensus. That, as anyone with any experience in the workplace will be able to tell us is too often a route to disaster.

This leadership interview with Dr Peter Crow is what I hope will be the first of many within the Articulate Strategy Well series.

Governance is a specialist area that can be misunderstood. My thanks to Peter for his time and professionalism throughout the process and of course helping me to have a better understanding of the subject of governance which has been his life’s work.

Many board meetings are played out like films: power, ego, deception, blame, and lots of other negative vibes. The board room can indeed be a frightening place to be on a bad day.

Sometimes, of course, things go badly wrong, and in those cases, there has to be a bad day. Uncomfortable, but necessary to put things right.

Unfortunately, for some companies, every board room meeting is a bad day for everyone. Even if someone thinks they’ve won, actually everyone has lost by pushing others or being pushed into a wrong decision.

In such companies, not only is there no intention to reach an agreement, very often there is actual intent not to reach an agreement. When power and politics take over the board room, the result is either paralysis or bad decision making.

On the other side of the coin, boards which agree on everything too quickly could benefit from some positive and constructive discussion. There needs to be some tension, some debate. People around the board room table need to think they have considered the options and come to the right decision.

Getting the right balance is essential and often comes down to having and living the correct cultural values.

If your board meetings are more like a Hollywood epic, then maybe its time for a rethink.

Board rooms are the places to discuss, debate and make the right decisions on strategy. Negative thoughts, behaviours and actions prevent open, honest and insightful discussions.

Successful strategy starts in the meeting rooms and boardroom room. If there is unnecessary conflict at these early stages, the chances of a successful implementation are low.

‘Winning’ board room battles based on overpowering and ego is unlikely to result in a winning strategy. Negativity and big egos strangle strategy.

For businesses focused heavily on operations and process, this approach is standard. What other way is there?

To understand the need for an alternative approach, we need first to accept that not all jobs are equal.

What we are not talking about here is anything to do with level, rank, salary, and status. Nor are we talking about the complexity or simplicity of the role. These differentiators are just what everybody would expect in a free capitalist society.

The difference we are talking about isn’t related to the way a job gets done, but the importance to the business strategy.

In other words, for the business strategy to work, it needs one or more people employed in specific roles. Without people doing these jobs, the business strategy itself is at risk.

Of course, you could argue that all jobs have been created and maintained because of strategy. I think that would be stretching things. Most jobs exist to service operations. For proof of this statement, consider all the companies who have no clear strategies yet are employing many people. Business just gets done, the way it has always got done. Who needs strategies?

Of course, nothing lasts forever. Eventually, someone looks at the numbers or the markets or the performance and realises that something needs to change or else. The ‘or else’ could be just a minor drop in market share or on the other end of the scale, a significant crisis leading to an existential threat.

This analysis leads to new strategies, and it is at this point that the business realises two things. The first is that new jobs need to be created to solve the problem. The second is that despite employing many people, not one of the existing employees is suitable or available to serve in those new jobs.

To solve the problem and to drive the strategy forward, the business needs to gear up quickly by taking the importance of the business strategy into account. If the strategy is important, then the roles required to support the strategy are important.

What this does not necessarily mean is that the company has to pay more to get the right people to do the jobs.

What we are talking about here is that the company needs to place more importance on the recruitment process itself in terms of the speed, urgency and attention to detail.

Some years ago, I worked for one of the top companies in recruitment with offices across the world. On the first day, the message was clear. Recruitment is not easy. As the boss said, “no one is interested in recruitment until they have a vacancy. Then it is suddenly their top priority.”

This statement applies to all jobs, but for job roles directly associated with the business strategy, it is even apter.

Are you planning to recruit for a role which is going to have a direct impact on your key business strategies?

Treat it as a critical recruitment exercise. As a ‘strategic recruitment.’

Strategy can be time-consuming and complicated. It requires research, analysis, thinking. It means working with other people, some of whom may have different views to our own. 

Meanwhile, the business needs to go on. So many things to do. So little time.

So we put off ‘doing strategy’ yet another day. Then something happens which draws us to it. 

Many years ago, I worked selling advertising. It required a thorough understanding of the customer’s business through questioning and discussion. I found that doing this in-depth ‘need find’ as we called it, was a strength. Within the hour which we had allocated, the customer had found that they had managed to switch off from the day to day operations. For the first time in a long time, they were able to think about strategy. It led to some long-lasting customer relationships and some very productive advertising campaigns.

In that situation, discussing strategy was a means to an end for both of us. I didn’t request the appointment on the promise of discussing strategy. What the customer wanted were sales leads that they could convert into business. To get the right quality of sales leads, I needed to design advertising that was aligned with and worked with the customer’s strategy.

A strategy is and always will be a means to an end. We don’t spend time thinking about strategy for fun but as a response to challenges that we face.

Strategy, therefore, should be at the very top of our priorities.

Unfortunately, we may have very negative feelings about strategy. 

• We may not have any strategies
• We may suspect that they are not working
• Perhaps there has been some resistance to them
• Maybe we were given a hard time justifying our performance and plan at an executive meeting
• Perhaps we neither understand ‘strategy’ or how to communicate strategy

As with anything in life that we fear, we must find a way of overcoming those negative feelings if we are to improve our situation.

To change our mindset to a more positive one, we need to work on our understanding of both strategy and communicating our strategy. 

Once we develop this understanding, we find that rather than avoiding thinking, talking, writing, and visualizing our strategy; instead, we seek out opportunities to do so.

Competitor analysis is where you want to analyze your competitors at a business or corporate level — for example; you might be comparing the level of innovation at Adidas and Nike. 

Competitive analysis is where you analyze your competition at a product level — for example; you might be drilling down into comparing the functionality of the shoes.

Understanding what we are dealing with is essential when developing a strategy. We have to be prepared to do the necessary research. 

When communicating strategy, we need to avoid over-complication. So, rather than talk about ‘competition’ as one big subject, we need to be able to break it down into much smaller pieces depending on our audience. Creating separate competitor and competitive strategies can, therefore, help us enormously.

If that is what is going through your mind, try it.

Pick any strategy you are either currently running or planning.

Just talk about it.

(To start with, perhaps do so in private rather than with an audience).

————-

Then review it.

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How did that go?

Did you find it easy?

Was it clear and concise?

If others had heard it, would they have been inspired?

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If everything went perfectly, congratulations! 

However, if you ‘just winged it,’ without any preparation, you probably found it a very uncomfortable experience.

Even with preparation, there is still a lot more to it than many people think.

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To communicate strategy well, to an influential audience, you need to focus on two things:

1. Firstly you need to have the right strategy. 
2. Secondly, you need to have thought, prepared, and rehearsed for how you are going to communicate it.

Communicating strategy well requires a process and takes preparation and practice. 

We probably all sometimes stare in disbelief at the TV or the radio when someone says something that in our opinion clearly isn’t true. What else do we do? We turn to the person next to us or later tell the tale to someones else. ‘Hey, you’ll never guess what he/she said…,’ ‘do they think we’re stupid or what?’ Alternatively, if we are on our own and can’t hold back, we may say to ourselves or out loud some version of ‘come off it, man!’

We are all probably familiar with the term ‘spin doctor.’ Here is the Wikipedia definition of ‘spin.’ 

‘In public relations and politics, spin is a form of propaganda, achieved through knowingly providing a biased interpretation of an event or campaigning to persuade public opinion in favor or against some organization or public figure. While traditional public relations and advertising may also rely on altering the presentation of the facts, “spin” often implies the use of disingenuous, deceptive, and highly manipulative tactics.[1]‘

The standout keywords for me are, ‘propaganda,’ ‘biased,’ ‘disingenuous,’ ‘deceptive,’ and ‘highly manipulative.’

Let’s think about those keywords collectively for a moment. Do we like people not being open and honest with us? Do we like being manipulated and deceived? Do we like hearing just one side of the story? Alternatively, are we wary propaganda? Do we yearn for the truth? Are we not inspired more by those people whose vision, values, and, behaviours are honest and sincere?

Considering the need for integrity as opposed to ‘spin’ is essential because of how we need to communicate our strategy when making changes. 

Change is a delicate subject. Anyone employed for any reasonable amount of time will have experienced change. The experience can often be stressful, especially if we are unsure of what the changes will be and how they will affect us. We can become anxious, stressed, harming both our work and home lives.

As leaders and managers, we can reduce these adverse effects by being as open and honest as possible. There are, of course, many situations where for confidential reasons we are unable to disclose certain information. However, there is a big difference holding some information back and actively ‘spinning’ a misleading message.

It is ironic that often, change is beneficial, both for the company and those who are impacted by the changes. In these situations, if we have been anxious, we have worried ourselves unnecessarily.

In managing change, the reasons for both the ‘change’ itself and the strategy to implement it need to be justified. People need to understand what is going on and how the changes will impact them. 

In both business and personal communication, having strong ethical values and continually demonstrating personal integrity can go a long way in getting buy-in from people to your change initiatives.

Many companies invest significant time discussing strategy, yet little progress is made because there’s no system or expectation in place to translate ideas into action.

An action-based approach to strategy means responding to challenges with intent and commitment. One of the most effective ways to achieve this is by writing your strategy down.

The Benefits of Writing Your Strategy

1. Clarity & Focus – The act of writing forces you to think through your strategy in a structured way.
2. Commitment – Putting your strategy in writing signals a serious intention to follow through.
3. Standardization – A documented system for writing, storing, and sharing strategies ensures consistency across your organization.
4. Alignment – Related strategies can be better coordinated when they are clearly documented.

At the core of our work with clients is developing a disciplined and organized approach that enables strategies to be effectively created, communicated, and implemented.

For more information on our approach, please contact Adrian Hargreaves.