Here’s why you struggle to make big moves

I think most of us here probably understand this simple idea: The main difference between the people who achieve extraordinary things, and the rest of us, is the willingness to take massive action. Like everything, this applies to both the personal and professional. The main thing that stops people achieving something – whether its getting […]

Why your company must also be an “idea”.

You’ve probably noticed that a lot of my writing focuses on the importance of communication in strategy. Or, more specifically, making your case. Standing in front of a group of people. Explaining your thinking. Laying out the plan. And getting them to enthusiastically agree. Indeed, I have gone so far as to say that if […]

How do you know when your strategy is “good enough”?

I’m going to let you in on a little secret: You don’t actually need your strategy to be particularly good. Yes, we’d all love to achieve the elegant brilliance of a Southwest, or an IKEA, but being real that’s probably not gonna happen. There’s a reason why people talk about those same case studies over […]

The No Bullshit Strategy Manifesto

As with so many things, the issue with strategy is not so much the information out there – it’s the presentation. There is no grand discovery to be made; no revolutionary process or framework; no groundbreaking new way to think about the discipline. Strategy is strategy. And everything there is to know about it is […]

Three ways to know if you’re lying to yourself in your strategy

I’ve often felt that you can boil strategy down to an attempt to simply be as honest as possible. About your business. About yourself. About the world. The closer you get to absolute truth, the more effective your actions.  With God-like omniscience anything can be done.  You of course know a lot less – but […]

Four useful ways to think about “insight”

Is “strategy” the shittest word in business? No!  Although it is indeed misunderstood, and although it’s used to cloak all manner or useless jargony guff, it can only be considered prince of the bullshit realm. The king?  There can be no question: Insight. Yes, in comparison to this slippery bugger “strategy” seems solid as a […]

7 sticky statements for effortless strategic thinking

To be frank with you, I don’t really say anything new in these “news”letters. New to you possibly, but not new to the world at large.  Now this isn’t because I’m uniquely unoriginal, but rather because when it comes to strategy, there isn’t anything new to be said.  Not by me, not by anyone. It […]

Why post-rationalised strategies are better

OK, here’s an obvious thing that you should have picked up in my writing by now: Leverage comes from doing things differently. Basic right?  And who could disagree with that.  But we should ask the follow up question – do you really believe it?  Because although your mouth may say yes, your actions and your […]

What is “insight speed” and how do you get there?

In my consulting work with clients, I have two practices which I’ve come to realise are very unusual: I favour long meetings (2+ hours) over short I favour public meetings (cafe, bar, etc.) over private My typical client engagement is generally something like a 2.5 hour chit chat in a buzzy coffee shop or members’ […]

The 3 step process I use on every project

People often say that strategy is both “art and science”. I do agree, but I think there’s a better way of putting it: Strategy is intuition and analysis. Both are crucial, because each does a job the other can’t. Intuition allows you to take a holistic view of the situation, and generate truly original and […]