Strategy vs Execution: How to distinguish the importance of each — George Deeb

Author: Jaelyn Campbell

Which is more important–the strategy or the execution? On today’s Small Business show we’re joined by George Deeb, the Managing Partner at Red Rocket Ventures, to answer that question for us as he shares his expertise on startup success.

"You can't have one without the other"

How to achieve maximum success 

In order to achieve the highest level of success, Deeb emphasizes that it’s the intersection of mixing the strategy with the execution. He notes, “if you’re not delivering results then you’re not going to have anything to reference success.” Therefore, the execution team accentuates any strategy, whether it be an A or  B plus strategy. Whereas, Deeb references the time he used to work at a bank when his boss told him, “I’d rather have a great execution team with a mediocre strategy than vice versa.”

To help illustrate, his consultant experience underlined working with just the strategy and working with both. By having clients with different demands, Deed claims, “two very different outcomes happened.” With just the strategy, there was a tendency to panic when things didn’t move as quickly or as planned. But when they began executing their own plan, they were nervous and retreated back to what they were comfortable with, which ultimately paralyzed them as a company.

In comparison, the other team was aware of what to anticipate, understood the rhythm and timing, and successfully grew their business. But, Deeb notes, “you really need a good combination of both to pawn it home.”

Deeb urges anyone who wants to launch a successful startup to “put the ego aside. First and foremost, you are not the only intelligent person in the room.” He also suggests that if you believe your current team is the right one, go full speed ahead. But, if you don’t, it’s crucial to recruit those individuals and have them in charge because they are the ones with the expertise, experience, and dependability. Additionally, Deeb  says, “You might have the right approach, but if you have the wrong team, it could end up being a strikeout instead of a home run.”

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