Hey :)

I’ve been thinking a lot about why copying other people’s tactics so often leads to frustration.

You see someone doing something interesting. A new offer. A content format. A growth tactic. A way of structuring their week. And it’s tempting to think, maybe I should do that too.

But the more I sit with it, the clearer this becomes:

Don’t copy someone else’s tactics when you don’t understand their strategy.

And even more simply than that:

Strategy comes from a problem.
Tactics are just the actions you take to solve it.

When you copy tactics without being clear on the problem you’re solving, things fall apart quickly. Not because the tactic is bad, but because it’s solving their problem, not yours.

Why copying tactics feels so tempting

I think a lot of people (myself included, at different times) end up in a place where action drives thought, instead of the other way around.

You see movement elsewhere and it creates urgency:

“Maybe we should be doing more content.”
“Maybe we need a new funnel.”
“Maybe we should run ads.”
“Maybe we should launch something new.”

The problem is, maybe isn’t a strategy.

Without a clearly defined problem, every tactic looks equally appealing — and equally distracting.

That’s usually the point where you start to feel scattered. Busy, but not focused. Active, but not confident.

What changes when the strategy is clear

When you’re genuinely clear on the problem you’re trying to solve, something interesting happens.

You stop caring what other people are doing.

Not in an arrogant way. More in a calm, grounded way.

You’re so focused on your work that other people’s strategies don’t feel threatening. In fact, they barely register. You can appreciate them, even celebrate them, without feeling pulled off course.

It’s surprisingly peaceful.

Your productivity goes up because your attention isn’t fragmented. Your confidence improves because your work has a clear reason for existing. And you stop second-guessing yourself every time someone else posts something impressive.

Clarity creates insulation.

Strategy as a filter (not a rulebook)

Another thing I’ve noticed is that strategy becomes a filter, not a set of rigid rules.

When someone is solving a similar problem, you can spot it instantly:

“That’s irrelevant to me.”
“That’s interesting, but not for this phase.”
“That’s actually useful — that would help solve the problem I’m working on.”

The same goes for books, courses, resources, and advice.

Instead of consuming everything, you start consuming selectively. You go deep instead of wide. You’re not distracted by shiny ideas because you know exactly what you’re looking for.

That alone changes how focused the work feels day to day.

How to actually get there (the thinking part most people skip)

This is the part I think most people underestimate.

There’s a lot more thinking and planning involved than it looks like from the outside.

It reminds me of that old analogy:
Two people are given an axe and asked to chop down a tree. One starts swinging immediately, burning energy. The other spends most of the time sharpening the axe, then cuts the tree down quickly and cleanly.

This process is about sharpening the axe.

Here’s how I’m currently thinking about it.

A rough process for building real strategy

1. Let thought drive action, not the other way around
This means slowing down. Spending serious time thinking about what’s actually in the way of the vision you have (problems & challenges). Not surface-level thinking — more than you’re probably doing right now.

2. Identify all the problems before choosing one
Don’t stop at the first obvious issue. List everything that feels stuck, inefficient, unclear, or misaligned. Then decide which problems actually matter now.

3. Choose a small number of core problems
This might be one problem. It might be two or three over a defined period (six or twelve weeks). The key is focus.

4. Brainstorm all possible ideas to solve those problems
No judgement yet. Just volume. What could work?

5. Select the best ideas and turn them into a plan
This is where value really gets created. You’re choosing deliberately, not reacting.

6. Write it all down
This part matters more than it sounds. A simple document that answers:

What’s the problem?
Why does it matter now?
How are we going to approach it?
What does success look like?
Who’s involved?
Who’s doing what?

One or two pages is enough. But it becomes a reference point you can come back to.

7. Set targets that come from the strategy
Goals and metrics should track behaviour and progress towards solving the problem, not exist independently of it.

8. Allocate work and plan your own calendar
Who needs to do what? What work can ONLY be done by you? When is it actually happening?

9. See it through
Finish the work. Close the loop. Let the strategy play out long enough to learn something real from it.

Why this changes how work feels

When your day-to-day actions are directly tethered to a clear strategic problem, the work has weight.

You’re not just “being productive.”
You’re solving something that matters.

And when you look back at this whole process, it becomes obvious why other people’s tactics don’t really matter. Most people aren’t working from this level of clarity. They’re reacting, copying, or filling time.

What you want instead is:

A clear reason for what you’re doing
Confidence in the direction
A strong filter for relevance
And the freedom to ignore almost everything else

That’s the part I keep coming back to.

Not more tactics.
Better thinking about the problem first.

🗣️ 👀

Chris.