What is strategy?
A strategy is a coherent set of analyses, concepts, policies, arguments, and actions to respond to a challenge. Strategic planning is a dear subject to me since childhood. This is a small summary from the book Good/Bad Strategy. A strategy is about how to advance forward. It is the craft of figuring out which purposes are both worth pursuing and can be accomplished.
The basic idea of Strategy is applying strength versus weakness or most promising opportunities. It is a way through a difficulty, an approach to overcome an obstacle. It Involves choice, setting aside goals in favor of others, which, is the most essential difficulty.
The heart of the matter in strategy is Advantage. To Achieve a powerful competitive punch or problem-solving effect.
Some properties of Good Strategy:
- Recognizes the nature of the challenge and offers a way of surmounting
- Unexpected
- Creates Strength through coherence of design and subtle shifts of viewpoints
- Hard work – not merely goal setting
- Focus energy and resources on one or a few pivotal objectives whose accomplishment will lead to a cascade of a favorable outcome
- Coherent action backed by an argument, effective mixture of thought and action with a structure ( Kernel )
Kernel of good strategy:
- Diagnosis: Find obstacles and challenges. Judgment about the meaning of facts. The explanation can be addressed with policy (Not any explanation). Defines the domain of action.
- Guiding policy: Like a signpost. Specifies the approach to deal with obstacles. Direction, not defining details. Channels action without exact definition.
- Coherent Action: Actions that build on one another rather than cancel each other. Resource commitments.
Strategy coordinates action to address a specific challenge. Coordinated action is not merely adjustment, its a coherence imposed on a system – An exercise of power to overcome natural working on a system – by policy and design. The coordination is usually costly, so it must be applied where gains are large.
You need more than just positive thinking. Believing that rays come out your head and can change the physical world or that thinking only of success you can become successful are forms of psychosis. Don’t skip details or problems. Don’t ignore the power of choice or focus. Don’t embrace the language of broad goals, visions, and values – It is not enough. Most importantly, don’t avoid the pain of choice.
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