The Japanese have a saying that “you cannot chase two hares”. What this means to business leaders is that organisations with conflicting objectives are not sustainable. At some point you must make a choice or watch your company wither on the corporate vine.

The BBC, for example, is stuck between its twin objectives of (1) meeting specific public service commitments (covering areas such as education, creativity, and citizenship), and (2) achieving national reach and remaining relevant to the nation (i.e. able to attract large audiences).

Modern TV is essentially about entertainment, which is why programmes like the X Factor and Coronation Street top the ratings. There’s nothing wrong with that, but pure entertainment is not part of the BBC’s public service objective.

Sure, there are times when great public service broadcasting also delivers big audiences, but these are the exceptions rather than the rule. As a result, the BBC is forced to include pure entertainment programmes with little or no public service element to them, particularly at peak viewing times. Last Saturday night’s schedule, for example, included these programmes:

• A game-show, where people have to jump 50 feet into a pool if they get a question wrong;
• A light entertainment show, where members of the public get a chance to sing with celebrities;
• A lottery draw;
• Two stand-up comedy programmes; and
• Two football highlight programmes.

Not one of these programmes could be said to be pure public service broadcasting, and could just easily be delivered by one of the many other commercial channels now available. Indeed, the media choices that consumers now have ­– alternative commercial channels, specialist channels, internet TV, cable and satellite broadcasting – make a ratings objective and a general programming remit increasingly difficult to sustain.

The time is coming, therefore, when the BBC executives and governors will have to make a choice. Either they must focus the organisation on entertainment and ratings, in which case it should forego its public and government funding, or pursue its public service objectives more single-mindedly, in which case the nature of its programming should be radically changed and its pursuit of ratings drastically reduced.

The BBC’s management will fight making these choices but at some point they must choose. If they fail to make a clear choice the corporation will continue to fall short of both of its objectives, and the pressure on it will increase. There is simply no escape from this reality.

The consequences of either choice are enormous, but at some point they must be faced into. As with any other organisation or business, it is generally better to make the choice early and then determinedly and creatively pursue it, than it is to defer the painful, but inevitable D-Day.

© Stuart Cross 2010. All rights reserved.

Qn 1: Where are you going to play?

Qn 2: How are you going to win?

The first question requires you to define the world in which you will participate – your target customers, the products and services you will offer them, the channels you will offer them through and your geographical reach.

The second question asks you to articulate how you will be #1 in your chosen world – what you will be famous for, how you will gain an edge over the competition and which capabilities you need to succeed.

Three critical things to remember:

1. Your world does not have to be the world. It could be the UK, or the North West, or Manchester, or even Eccles. And you don’t need to focus on everyone. You can target women, or women under 30, or women under 30 with a family. Well, you get the picture – have you defined the world in which you wish to play? And if you have, how attractive is it?
2. You do have to be #1 in your chosen world. Only market leaders succeed and generate adequate returns and growth. You have no choice but to be #1, so do you have the capabilities and points of uniqueness that your customers value? And can you deliver them in a way that allows you to generate adequate profits?
3. The two questions are inter-linked. As you answer these questions it becomes clear that you need to answer both at once. Your chosen market helps define the types of competitive advantage you need, and your capabilities help determine the markets in which you can succeed. It is an iterative process.

Only when you have crisp, focused replies to these two questions are you likely to have a strategy that has a chance of being delivered by your organisation.

Worryingly, many executives struggle to come up with a clear response, although, unsurprisingly, they tend to lead organisations that are struggling to succeed.

© Stuart Cross 2010. All rights reserved.