Hey :)
I’ve been thinking a lot about strategy lately — mostly because I don’t want to be wrestling with the same problems every year.
I’ve been thinking a lot about strategy lately — mostly because I don’t want to be wrestling with the same problems every year.
I want to be better each year at working on the right things, at the right time, in the right order.
And I’ll be honest: I’ve recently caught myself doing the opposite.
There was a problem in our business that needed fixed, and I jumped straight into “solving” it… only to realise the solution I was building was the wrong thing at the wrong time.
It wasn’t even a solution for now.
It was two or three steps ahead of where we actually were.
The step I skipped was thinking.
Richard Koch has a simple idea that’s been rattling around my head for a few years: Thought drives action.
And when you skip the thought, you get a lot of action… but not much progress.
That’s what “no strategy” often feels like, doesn’t it?
You’re busy.
You’re doing loads.
But you’re not confident it’s the right stuff.
Busy feels productive. Busy feels better than doing nothing.
But I’m learning that the fastest route is often the one that looks slower at the start: Think first. Then act.
The strategy sequence I’m using right now
A handful of ideas have been converging for me:
- Richard Rumelt (The Crux + Good Strategy, Bad Strategy): strategy is a response to a challenge, not an arbitrary goal
- Gary Keller + Jay Papasan (The One Thing): focus on the one thing that makes everything else easier or unnecessary
- Ben Hardy (10x is easier than 2x): fewer priorities, bigger leverage
- Richard Koch (80/20): the right problem solved creates disproportionate progress
Here’s the simple flow I’m using to “do strategy” in real life:
- What are we trying to achieve? - A mission. A revenue goal. A clear outcome.
- What’s making it difficult? - This is the strategic question. Not “what do we want?” but “what’s in the way?”
- What would need to be true for this to become inevitable? - This reveals the conditions you’re missing.
- List the problems in the way (there will be loads) - Then filter them.
- What’s the one thing we could tackle that would make everything else easier or unnecessary? - This is where focus becomes real. This is the crux.
- What’s making that difficult? - Now you’re working on the right layer, not the busywork layer.
- What are the best ideas to solve it? - Then: plan, owners, next steps.
When you do it this way, your work stops feeling random.
The thing you’re working on today is clearly tethered to the outcome you want.
That’s the feeling of strategy.
The skill that makes this work
One of the most underrated strategic skills is the ability to stop.
To notice: “This isn’t it.”
And to stop immediately.
Not because you’re flaky.
Not because you can’t follow through.
But because you’ve recognised you’re building the wrong thing, at the wrong time.
Most people keep going because of sunk cost.
But strategy is being willing to say: “That was a good effort… and it’s not the move right now.”
A question for you
If you feel busy but not clear, try this: What’s the one thing you should be working on right now that would make everything else easier?
And a follow-up that really matters: What’s making that difficult?
That’s where the real work is.
🗣️ 👀
Chris.
Chris.