Alfano the Great and the Strategy of a Spectacular Thrill Artist

My Grandfather, Louis Alfano, was Alfano the Great. Yes, all our grandfathers probably had great long tales that expanded with time, but my grandfather had proof.  He would work as a tight-rope walker in the 1920s between two buildings in Chicago.  When asked about it fifty years later, he would say, “Oh, don’t remind me.  I can’t believe that I did such a crazy thing.”
Still, ninety years later, Alfano the Great can teach us a little about strategy.  Imagine if he went through the strategic planning steps in fulfilling his vision.  I’ve pulled some steps from Johnson and Smith’s 60 Minute Strategic Plan to guide us.  Here is something like it would go:

1. Issues: The issue that my grandfather would have to solve is how he could adequately entertain people for money without killing himself?
2. Assumptions:  You would assume that he has some experience, talent, and good equipment.  Without these three aspects, he would not have a chance of addressing his issues.

3. Vision:  �His horizon is to reach the other building and prove that he is the greatest spectacular thrill artist in the world .  He had to make it there in one piece without compromising the entertainment value.
4. Beneficiaries: The biggest beneficiary was the department store that hired him to bring people to their front door.  Other stores on the street can benefited.
5. Obstacles: Wind, distractions, or a cable break could cause failure, and what a failure that would be. These obstacles are external to him.
6. Gauges of success: Obviously getting to the other side multiple times by foot and bicycle were the biggest indication.  Another gauge could have been the audience applause.
7. Opportunities: Good weather was a great opportunity, expecially if the wind was not blowing off Lake Superior.  This too was an external attribute that can affect his degree of success.
8. Strengths: He had determination, poverty, and tricks of the trade to fulfill his vision.  He said that he deflated the bicycle tires to get a better grip on the cable when crossing.
9. Weaknesses:  Fear may have been an internal weakness.  Maybe a lack of experience, also.
10. Strategy:  Alfano the Great’s strategy was to perform six different acts across the wire: Hand over hand; hang by his feet; a quasi-handspring; ride a bicycle to the other building; perform “arms” with a rifle, discharging it; and slide down a wire to the ground head first.
11. Tactics: Training on the ground, rigging equipment for a higher chance of success, and obtain accurate weather forecasts.  These are some of the tactics Alfano the Great needed to be “World’s Greatest Spectacular Thrill Artist”

How do you approach the strategy for your business or life?

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