What people think
strategy's about:
- ·Coming up with a direction.
What getting there actually requires:
It starts with people. The right ones in the room — and that's rarely just the board.
- 01Being honest about where you actually are — not where you'd like to be.
- 02Understanding why the last strategy didn't move. That answer is usually already in the room.
- 03Naming the obstacle nobody's said out loud yet.
- 04Knowing the difference between the stated obstacle and the real one.
- 05Getting a leadership team honest about what they're afraid of.
- 06Accepting there is no digital strategy. No AI strategy. There is only a business strategy — and it requires understanding the business deeply.
- 07Building a clear path — connected through every layer of the business, with real measurement, not vanity metrics.
- 08Accepting the path requires experimentation — and that culture will block it if the business isn't ready to face that.
- 09Investing in the capabilities the journey requires — not just the plan.
- 10Holding the room when the real difficulty finally surfaces.
- 11Designing for culture change, not around it. It is the obstacle.
- 12Making room for the next generation of leadership before the current one is ready to let go.
- 13Knowing when to kill the comfortable answer — it is usually what's keeping you where you are.
- 14Knowing the strategy is only as good as the execution — and the willingness to adapt as the path changes.
- ·...and yes, coming up with a direction.