Becoming a Strategist (Part 1)

A great deal of strategy work is trying to figure out what is going on. Not just deciding what to do, but the more fundamental problem of comprehending the situation.

Good strategy is not just “what” you are trying to do. It is also “why” and “how” you are doing it.

Real-life strategy, whether your own or a company’s, is an ongoing process of dealing with critical challenges and deciding what consequential actions to take. Some challenges are long-term and broad in scope. Others are more immediate blockages, or sudden opportunities, encountered on the way forward. In all cases, strategy is the process of confr

To be a strategist you will need to embrace the full complex and confusing force of the challenges and opportunities you face. To be a strategist you will have to develop a sense for the crux of the problem—the place where a commitment to action will have the best chance of surmounting the most critical obstacles. To be a strategist you will need p

In many situations, the main impediment to action is the forlorn hope that certain painful choices or actions can be avoided—that the whole long list of hoped-for “priorities” can all be achieved. It is the hard craft of strategy to decide which priority shall take precedence. Only then can action be taken. And, interestingly, there is no greater t

First, the best way to deal with strategic issues is by squarely facing the challenge. Too many people start with goals and other visions of a desired end state. Start with the challenge, and diagnose its structure and the forces at work. Once you do that, your sense of purpose and the actions you consider will change. In that diagnosis, find the c