What happened, however, is that we did neither. We saw two forces emerging in the industry that allowed us to chart a very different course. At the time, it was fraught with risk. But perhaps because the other alternatives were so unpalatable, we decided to stake the company’s future on a totally different view of the industry.

Anyone will tell you that software acquisitions are risky. The asset you’re acquiring is human. If the critical people decide to walk (and a lot of them would certainly have the financial wherewithal to do that once the deal closed), then you’ve spent a lot of money for some buildings, office equipment, and access to a customer-installed base.

A good strategy will always identify critical holes, competitive weaknesses, and the potential to fill them with tactical acquisitions.

If a management team doesn’t believe that it has identified and is seriously funding new growth opportunities, then it is likely to wander off and drink the heady brew of acquisitions and diversification—and ultimately fail.

So, execution is really the critical part of a successful strategy. Getting it done, getting it done right, getting it done better than the next person is far more important than dreaming up new visions of the future.