Strategy
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy
Diagnosis, guiding policy, coherent action. Miss one and what you have is a goal with a deadline.
it doesn't mean the grab bag of everything that you can think of that might matter, it means what's first
UCLA Anderson professor, author of Good Strategy Bad Strategy
Richard Rumelt wrote Good Strategy Bad Strategy and The Crux, was a longtime professor at UCLA Anderson and has consulted on strategy with Microsoft, Apple and Intel. He defines strategy as a mix of policy and action designed to deal with a challenge, and it starts with a diagnosis of what is going on. He now calls the result an action agenda, built around the one or two key challenges that can actually be addressed.
Lenny's Podcast 00:48 00:55 01:10 05:01 08:40 1:01:52 1:46:43
Strategy
Diagnosis, guiding policy, coherent action. Miss one and what you have is a goal with a deadline.
it doesn't mean the grab bag of everything that you can think of that might matter, it means what's first
Richard Rumelt
assumes you will have rivals and tells you how to beat them. Diagnose the crux, concentrate force at the decisive point, and apply a named source of power such as leverage or focus. Competition is the terrain, not a mistake.
calls competition a loser's game. Profits get bid away in a crowded market and companies converge on each other, so the real move is to build something new enough that nobody is standing there to fight.
Good Strategy Kernel
Good strategy has three essential elements: a diagnosis of the core challenge, a guiding policy to address it, and coherent actions that support the policy. Missing any…
The Crux
Focus on the most significant and addressable challenge that, once overcome, leads to progress towards ambitions - like the crux in climbing (the most difficult part of…
The Kernel of Good Strategy
Every good strategy has a logical structure called the kernel, consisting of three inseparable elements: a diagnosis that defines the challenge, a guiding policy that…
If a strategy document lacks a diagnosis, a guiding policy, or coherent actions, it is not a strategy -- it is a goal list or a wish list.
When evaluating any strategy document, business plan, or organizational roadmap for strategic validity.
Goals, ambitions, visions, missions, and values are not strategy. Strategy is fundamentally about what you will do in response to a challenge.
When an organization confuses aspirational statements with actionable strategy.
The more uncertain and dynamic the situation, the more proximate (near-term and feasible) a strategic objective must be.
When setting strategic objectives in volatile, fast-changing environments like startups or emerging markets.
If your strategy document has many priorities, you don't have a strategy
Having too many priorities dilutes focus and effectiveness
If a strategy document is full of buzzwords and jargon, then it is probably fluff masquerading as strategy -- strip away the buzzwords and check if anything substantive remains.
When reviewing strategy documents, memos, or presentations for strategic substance.
If an organization has more than a handful of strategic priorities, it probably has no real priorities and is spreading resources too thin to achieve breakthrough on any of them.
When evaluating organizational focus and resource allocation across initiatives.
Strategy is problem-solving, not goal-setting. A strategy is a way through a difficulty, an approach to overcoming an obstacle, a response to a challenge.
Most organizations confuse strategy with aspiration. By redefining strategy as challenge-response rather than goal-pursuit, leaders are forced to do the hard analytical…
Good Strategy Bad Strategy (2011) and The Crux (2022)
Focus is the cornerstone of strategy. At the core, strategy is about focus, and most complex organizations fail because they pursue multiple goals without concentrating enough resources to achieve a breakthrough in any.
Concentration above a threshold of effort produces outsized results, while dilution below that threshold yields minimal returns. The natural tendency of organizations is…
Good Strategy Bad Strategy (2011) and The Crux (2022)
Coordination is one of the most basic, enduring, and underappreciated sources of strategic advantage. A well-coordinated strategy is hard to copy.
Strategic coordination is not ad hoc mutual adjustment -- it is coherence imposed on a system by policy and design. When actions are coherent and mutually reinforcing,…