What's a strategy?

You have a mission. A big hairy goal that is out to rid an evil.

You know who you are saving. You have a target customer to whom you say yes to, and no to everyone else. No being more important than yes.

You know what the customer values and what they don’t.

You know how you will differentiate yourself for that customer by deciding what to invest in, but more importantly what to divest from, and by doing that you create “white space” between you and your competitors.

Some combination of the differentiators gives you an advantage that is very difficult for your competitors to replicate.

You have a story to tell that succinctly describes your advantage and offer. Your customers get it, and appreciate it, and they tell two others, and so on.

You plan in three year windows, quarter by quarter, with week by week for the current quarter, to execute your strategy and deliver your mission.

Everything that must be done is owned and measured, and held to account and examined in a repeating rhythm and cadence.

Easy to sum up, very hard to do. If you are a mere mortal, like me, don’t try it on your own, get a coach.