Most useful first step in strategy: An immediately actionable execution plan
I regularly teach, consult and write about strategy development. But in this article, I’ll focus on strategy execution; a topic sometimes omitted in business strategy books. As always, I’ll keep…
Most useful (re)confirmation in strategy: Strategy in the AI era
Many of the current AI discussions focus at the extremes. (A recent BBC podcast was titled “AI and humanity’s future: chilling or thrilling?”). This doesn’t help a start-up or mature…
Most useful clarification in strategy: Disruptive innovation
I’ve written elsewhere about the many forms of innovation to consider when developing a firm’s strategy. I’ll focus here on disruptive innovation and discuss three things: What it is not,…
Most useful reminder in strategy: The many forms of innovation.
I’ve written elsewhere how Peter Drucker, one of the most sought-after management teachers and consultants of the 20th century, defined entrepreneurship as a discipline rather than a “flash of genius”.…
Most useful comfort in strategy: You cannot know the right strategy at the start!
This article builds on my previous three articles. They discussed some important steps in strategy development: Clearly framing the customer problem, defining assumptions that must prove to be true for…
Most useful metaphor in strategy: Fire bullets, then cannonballs.
I wrote separately about McKinsey & Company’s warning about the “social side of strategy” and how Prof. Roger Martin’s question “what would have to be true (WWHTBT)?” can mitigate its…
Most useful question in strategy: What would have to be true?
I wrote separately about how strategy consulting firm McKinsey & Company warn us about the “social side of strategy”. This is where both conscious self-interest and sub-conscious natural human biases…
Most useful start in strategy: Framing the problem.
Einstein supposedly said that if he had an hour to solve a problem, then he would start by spending 55 minutes framing the problem. But sadly, I frequently see technology…
Most useful checklist in strategy: Porter’s five tests.
I’ve seen many strategy statements that were excellent business development, marketing, or sales plans. But they were plans, not strategies. It’s useful to clearly define both terms and to keep…
Most useful discipline in strategy: Entrepreneurship.
I’ve written elsewhere about how certain powerful words and phrases get overly used in business because they sound ‘windswept and interesting’ (as Billy Connolly would say). I would include the…