“The underlying principles of strategy are enduring, regardless of technology or the pace of change.”
What if you really had to win a war? Maybe not the military kind, but something really significant?
I suppose war is a dead metaphor … we have a “war” on everything it seems. We use that term when we want to identify something really important that we want to treat as a war.
When we try to solve complex problems, we need to create strategies to follow. Strategy is the “How” portion of our solution. Many authors refer to strategy as the “bridge” that gets us from where we are to where we need to be.
If you really had to win a war (or something akin to a war) perhaps you should define winning first. Then design the How portion, or the strategy. I know that sounds simple - it is simple! Then why do so many fail to define success?
Unfortunately there is no “checklist” to create a strategy - no step-by-step guide to guarantee a winning strategy. But there is hope.
“Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.”
Winston Churchill
We have over 2,500 years of recorded strategic thinking. Most of this involves strategy in war - actual war. Business strategy as an academic topic is relatively new - starting around the 1960s and blossoming in the 1980s.
A former mentor of mine once told me “strategy is strategy is strategy” meaning the same structure and principles can be applied no matter what the field or challenge.
I’ve spent the last seventeen years taking a deep dive on strategy, mostly in a classical sense. This deep dive allowed me to develop a structured approach to strategy.
This is what my newsletter is about - Structured Strategy. For success. For the win. For the solution to complex challenges.
Welcome!
Dave...this is SUPER. We've needed something like this for a long time: application of age old concepts applied methodically to new, wicked problems of the 21st century. For my old dead guy quote "History doesn't repeat itself, but it sure rhymes" Sign me up! vr vd