Richard Rumelt21 January 2024

Good Strategy, Bad Strategy

7Frameworks

15Insights

Episode overview

Richard Rumelt defines strategy as a designed response to a high-stakes challenge, built from a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action. He argues that goals, ambitions, vague language, and long priority lists are not strategies, and recommends reframing strategy as an action agenda aimed at one or two important, addressable challenges. The discussion also explores competitive power, historical analogy, organizational politics, insight, and the rapid adaptation required of startups.

Key ideas

A good strategy combines a diagnosis of the challenge, a guiding policy for addressing it, and coherent actions that reinforce one another.
Goals, ambitions, mission statements, word salad, and lists of desired outcomes do not substitute for strategy.
Calling strategy an action agenda clarifies the practical question: what will we do about this specific problem?
Focus creates strategic power by concentrating an advantage on an important target that can actually be affected.
The crux is the hardest addressable part of a challenge; insight often comes from sustained immersion in what makes that part difficult.
History and biography strengthen strategic judgment because strategy relies heavily on analogy rather than fixed equations.
Organizational strategy requires choices among conflicting interests, and senior leaders ultimately need authority to decide and assign action.
Startups make uncertain bets and must combine conviction with a willingness to change customers, products, or direction as evidence arrives.

Transcript available · source text is retained privately and is not published

Frameworks in this episode

Strategy3 steps

Focusing Power on an Addressable Target

Strategy works only when you concentrate a genuine source of power on a target that can actually be moved.

Read →

Strategy4 steps

Spotting Bad Strategy

Four tells that a 'strategy' is actually empty: no diagnosis, goals-as-strategy, fluff, and incoherent actions.

Read →

Strategy4 steps

The Action Agenda (Ambition-Filter Method)

Stop writing a 'strategy.' Filter your ambitions down to one important, addressable challenge and act.

Read →

Innovation3 steps

The Crux: Insight Through Immersion

Find the single hardest solvable part of the problem, immerse in it, and let insight emerge.

Read →

Leadership4 steps

The Foundry: Facilitating a Group to One Action Agenda

Put the leader plus 7-8 people in a room, surface 25 problems, then focus on the one or two addressable ones.

Read →

Strategy3 steps

The Kernel of Good Strategy

Every real strategy has three parts: a diagnosis, a guiding policy, and coherent action.

Read →

Entrepreneurship3 steps

The Value Deny: Finding Opportunity in What You Can't Buy

List what you should be able to buy but can't, or how a familiar product ought to work but doesn't.

Read →

People & resources mentioned

Attributed to the moment in the episode. Timestamps are approximate.

People · 20

Richard RumeltMentionsRichard was a longtime professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management was on the faculty of Harvard Business School
“today my guest is Richard rammelt Richard is an absolute legend in the world of strategy”
▶ Watch at ~0:30approx.
Donald RumsfeldMentionsIdentified in the transcript as Secretary of Defense.
“folks like Donald Rumsfeld”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
Lenny RachitskyMentionstoday we've got another very special compilation episode something I've been pulling on more and more with the podcast and the newsletter
“thank you for having me lenon”
▶ Watch at ~4:30approx.
Steve JobsMentionsSteve Jobs is just uh the bar he held for the company and for technical talent and for excellence was not uh wavering.
“look at how Steve Jobs changed the world when people didn't expect it”
▶ Watch at ~7:30approx.
Kate RumeltMentionsRichard Rumelt identifies Kate as his wife.
“my wife Kate asked me well do you defy strategy”
▶ Watch at ~8:00approx.
Barack ObamaMentionsmentioned
“president o started out saying where United States is falling by behind in education”
▶ Watch at ~21:00approx.
Louis V. Gerstner Jr.Mentionsmentioned
“when gerner took over IBM as it was failing in the face of the microprocess Revolution”
▶ Watch at ~30:00approx.
Bill GatesMentionsI think that J Leno is a greater philanthropist than Bill Gates
“Bill Gates was a student in that classroom”
▶ Watch at ~35:30approx.
Osama bin LadenMentionsmentioned
“United States went to Afghanistan and it wanted to catch Osama b l”
▶ Watch at ~44:30approx.
I. M. PeiMentionsmentioned
“was hired to take a look at the Loof in Paris”
▶ Watch at ~1:04:30approx.
Elon MuskMentionsWhether you like him or not, Elon, this is similar to his um if you watch him, he has sets these really ambitious goals
“heon must focused on well why is it so hard to use a rocket”
▶ Watch at ~1:06:00approx.
Donald RumsfeldMentionsIdentified in the transcript as Secretary of Defense.
“I interviewed secretary defense Donald Rell while we were invading Iraq second time”
▶ Watch at ~1:12:00approx.
George W. BushMentionsmentioned
“makes me think of actually of George Bush he talked about rville but George Bush's famous quote I'm the decider”
▶ Watch at ~1:18:00approx.
Woodrow WilsonMentionsmentioned
“I remember during wro Wilson's Administration when he decided to take some hard action”
▶ Watch at ~1:18:30approx.
Bob NewhartMentionsmentioned
“there's this video by Bob newart where he's a therapist”
▶ Watch at ~1:33:30approx.
Roger MartinCoinedRoger is one of the world's most trusted strategy advisers he's professor ameritus at the rotman school of management
“I like playing to win by Roger Martin”
▶ Watch at ~1:34:00approx.
Clayton ChristensenRecommendsManagement thinker admired by Eric Ries whose endorsement of Ries's work was personally important to him.
“the books CL Christians do stuff about the anator do is is always solid”
▶ Watch at ~1:34:00approx.
John D. RockefellerMentionsmentioned
“Rockefeller was a grber baron and he built an Empire”
▶ Watch at ~1:35:00approx.
Andy GroveCoinedBusiness leader cited for distinguishing competency from motivation.
“I recommend uh Andy gr book only the paranoid survive”
▶ Watch at ~1:35:00approx.
Cassandra ClareMentionsRichard Rumelt's daughter and a bestselling fiction writer.
“your daughter Cassandra is a writer as well in fiction she writes fiction”
▶ Watch at ~1:41:00approx.

Resources · 32

Good Strategy/Bad StrategyRecommendsbook · Richard Rumelt
“he's the author of good strategy bad strategy which I've gifted to countless people who wanted to become more strategic”
▶ Watch at ~0:30approx.
Lenny's PodcastMentionspodcast · Lenny Rachitsky
“today my guest is Richard rammelt”
▶ Watch at ~0:30approx.
The CruxCoinedbook · Richard Rumelt
“he's also the author author of The Crux his most recent book”
▶ Watch at ~0:30approx.
Harvard Business SchoolMentionsplace
“was on the faculty of Harvard Business School”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
United States Army Special Operations CommandMentionscompany
“government organizations like US Army special ops command”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
UCLA Anderson School of ManagementMentionsplace
“Richard was a longtime professor at UCLA Anderson School of Management”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
IntelMentionscompany
“he's consulted on strategy with companies like Microsoft Apple and Intel”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
AppleMentionscompany · Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne
“he's consulted on strategy with companies like Microsoft Apple and Intel”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
MicrosoftMentionscompany · Bill Gates and Paul Allen
“he's consulted on strategy with companies like Microsoft Apple and Intel”
▶ Watch at ~1:00approx.
CommandBarUsessoftware · CommandBar
“command bar is an AI power toolkit for product growth marketing and customer teams”
▶ Watch at ~2:00approx.
MiroUsessoftware · Miro
“check out my mirror board that the mirror team helped me create”
▶ Watch at ~3:30approx.
IBMMentionscompany
“when gerner took over IBM as it was failing in the face of the microprocess Revolution”
▶ Watch at ~30:00approx.
Seven PowersMentionsbook · Hamilton Helmer
“there's also the book obviously the seven powers that a lot of people are aware of”
▶ Watch at ~34:30approx.
AmazonMentionscompany · Jeff Bezos
“the ease of shopping on Amazon keeps people from leaving it and going to another website”
▶ Watch at ~37:00approx.
BingMentionsproduct · Microsoft
“it's very hard for Bing to catch up because Bing doesn't have as much data to trade on”
▶ Watch at ~38:30approx.
TwitterUseswebsite · Twitter
“I love Twitter I'm on there all the time I feel like it's never been better”
▶ Watch at ~40:30approx.
Great DepressionMentionsevent
“of course everybody knows about the Great Depression”
▶ Watch at ~49:30approx.
The Wall Street JournalUseswebsite · Dow Jones & Company
“you can go online and look at the Wall Street Journal”
▶ Watch at ~50:00approx.
VantaMentionssoftware · Christina Cacioppo
“this episode is brought to you by vanta helping you streamline your security compliance to accelerate your growth”
▶ Watch at ~54:00approx.
LouvreMentionsplace
“was hired to take a look at the Loof in Paris”
▶ Watch at ~1:04:30approx.
SpaceXMentionscompany · Elon Musk
“so SpaceX when there was designing I was a conceptual designer”
▶ Watch at ~1:07:00approx.
VoyagerMentionsproduct
“machine that became Voyager and went out pass the planets into iny space”
▶ Watch at ~1:07:00approx.
NokiaMentionscompany
“if you look at Nokia you know one of the big examples of of strategic errors”
▶ Watch at ~1:19:30approx.
Salesforce.comMentionscompany
“that's how sales worth.com got started”
▶ Watch at ~1:27:30approx.
MITMentionscompany
“there's some kids at MIT that had developed this thing that lets in air but keeps out the noise”
▶ Watch at ~1:29:00approx.
Playing to WinRecommendsbook · A.G. Lafley and Roger Martin
“I like playing to win by Roger Martin”
▶ Watch at ~1:34:00approx.
Only the Paranoid SurviveRecommendsbook · Andy Grove
“I recommend uh Andy gr book only the paranoid survive”
▶ Watch at ~1:35:00approx.
YellowstoneRecommendstv show · Taylor Sheridan and John Linson
“well I like ystone like everybody else fascinated by it”
▶ Watch at ~1:36:30approx.
The Crux Book websiteUseswebsite · Richard Rumelt
“I have a little website called the C book.com that has information about me and and about the books”
▶ Watch at ~1:43:30approx.
General ImaginationCoinedcompany · Richard Rumelt
“my little company is called General imagination”
▶ Watch at ~1:44:00approx.
Apple PodcastsMentionssoftware · Apple Inc.
“you can subscribe to the show on Apple podcast Spotify or your favorite podcast app”
▶ Watch at ~1:48:30approx.
SpotifyMentionssoftware · Spotify
“you can subscribe to the show on Apple podcast Spotify or your favorite podcast app”
▶ Watch at ~1:48:30approx.

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Insights & moments

The myth-busts, hot takes, explainers, and tools worth keeping.

Hot Take· 3

Hot Take57:30

Don't Call It a Strategy, Call It an Action Agenda

Rumelt argues the word 'strategy' has been so corrupted by consultants and books that people freeze when asked to write one. His fix: state the problem plainly and call the output an 'action agenda' — a concrete list of what you're actually going to do about it, not a mission or vision statement.

Rename 'strategy' to 'action agenda' to unstick people who are paralyzed by the concept
An action agenda answers: what are we going to do about this problem
You do not need a mission, vision, and values in place before you can act
Countless people sell the idea that all those things must precede strategy — Rumelt says that's false

“don't call it a strategy call it an action agenda that you're not creating a strategy you're creating an action agenda”
Richard Rumelt · 58:00

“huge numbers of people out there willing to sell you device long your mission and your vision and your values and your all these things…”
Richard Rumelt · 58:30

#strategy#action-agenda#mission-vision#reframe

Hot Take1:08:00

Strategy Is Insight, Not Picking From a List

Rumelt insists strategy isn't selecting from a menu of common strategies — it's studying what makes a problem hard and seeing a way through, the way I.M. Pei solved the Louvre entrance with a glass pyramid or SpaceX solved reusable rockets. That's insight, and insight is scary because it isn't guaranteed. People want to innovate but flinch from the immersion insight requires.

Strategy is looking at the problem, finding what makes it hard, and seeing a way to solve it
It is not picking a strategy off a list of common strategies
Insight is scary because it's not guaranteed to arrive on schedule
People want to be first and beat the market but won't study enough to earn an insight
Insight comes from immersing yourself in the nature of the problem

“strategy isn't picking a strategy out of a list of common strategies it's looking at the problem what makes that problem hard and seeing a…”
Richard Rumelt · 1:08:30

“we want to innovate but we're scared of insight we want to be the first but we'd like to pick our strategy off a list…”
Richard Rumelt · 1:09:00

#insight#strategy#innovation#problem-solving

Hot Take1:16:30

Leadership Has Displaced Management — and That's a Problem

Rumelt observes that the bookstore management section is now mostly leadership books, and most leadership advice is about perfecting yourself rather than leading anyone. The theory that a sufficiently magnetic, perfected leader never has to tell anyone what to do has, he argues, displaced the real work of management: deciding and assigning.

Most 'management' books are now leadership books about self-perfection
The implicit theory: perfect yourself and people will follow, so you never have to give an order
Rumelt isn't against leadership, but at some point you must say 'we're going to do this, and Bob is in charge'
Transformational-leadership literature from the 1980s has percolated through and weakened management

“most of it's about leadership and the leadership is mostly about perfecting yourself it's not about leading anybody”
Richard Rumelt · 1:16:30

“management is being displaced by leadership which is the idea that the leader has a vision”
Richard Rumelt · 1:17:30

#leadership#management#decision-making#hot-take

Explainer· 6

Explainer16:30

The Telltale Signs of Bad Strategy

Rumelt breaks down what disguises itself as strategy but isn't. The most common corporate failure is a set of profit or performance goals presented as strategy. The others are fluff — fancy 'word salad' language — and incoherent actions that fight each other. Underneath most bad strategy is a missing diagnosis.

A set of profit or performance goals is the standard corporate bad strategy
Goals and ambitions are not strategy — they're a wish list of what you'd like to happen
Fluff: using fancy, abstract words to sound more strategic ('word salad')
Incoherent actions that contradict each other
The root problem is usually a missing diagnosis of what's actually holding you back

“the standard bad strategy for a corporation is a set of profit goals or performance goals a set of goals”
Richard Rumelt · 17:30

“bad strategy also is fluff people will use fancy words to describe their situation”
Richard Rumelt · 20:00

#bad-strategy#goals#diagnosis#fluff

Explainer28:30

Power Is an Asymmetry — And Yesterday's Edge Becomes Today's Handicap

Rumelt defines power in strategy as exploiting an asymmetry — some difference that tilts the odds away from 50/50. But sources of power are transitory. IBM's respected relationships with big corporations were its strength under Gerstner, then became a handicap when computing moved to the cloud and its big-company customers were the slowest to adopt.

In a competitive contest between equals, the outcome is 50/50 — strategy requires an asymmetry
Sources of power: being first, reputation, relationships, invention, a specific customer base
Gerstner rebuilt IBM around its asymmetry: trusted relationships with large corporations
That same big-company orientation later disadvantaged IBM as computing moved to the cloud
Power isn't permanent — what you inherit from the past can become the wrong thing

“for a strategy you need to exploit an asymmetry of some kind”
Richard Rumelt · 29:00

“IBM then becomes disadvantaged in the new world because it inherits this big company orientation”
Richard Rumelt · 31:30

#power#asymmetry#ibm#competitive-advantage

Explainer35:00

Network Effects: The Dominant Source of Power Today

Rumelt traces network effects from the telephone system through Bill Gates' MS-BASIC to modern social media and Amazon. The larger your user base, the more useful and defensible the product. He notes generative AI may create even stronger effects, since bigger training data compounds — as with Google search, which Bing struggles to match on data alone.

Network effects: the more users a product has, the more useful it becomes
Bill Gates learned about network effects in a Harvard economics class; MS-BASIC benefited hugely
Amazon's ease of shopping and scale keep users from leaving
Generative AI may create stronger effects than ever — more data makes the model better
Google's search-data advantage makes it very hard for Bing to catch up
The way around a leader's data advantage is to specialize and own a niche approach

“no one wants to be on a social medium only three other people are social”
Richard Rumelt · 36:30

“the size of the user bench there is an important source of symmetry and power for the people who come out ahead”
Richard Rumelt · 37:30

#network-effects#power#ai#platforms

Explainer51:00

Real Diagnosis: Don't Cling to the First Plank

Rumelt likens a confusing situation to being adrift at sea: the first explanation you grab feels like a floating plank — a relief. But the key intellectual tool is to think again and look for a bigger plank. His own example: studying the Great Depression, he saw it as an auto-industry demand collapse once everyone who could afford a car already had one.

The first diagnosis that comes to mind feels like grabbing a plank while drowning — comforting but maybe wrong
The most important intellectual tool is to think again — is there a better explanation?
Rumelt's Great Depression diagnosis: adoption curves peak and decline; by 1929 car ownership had saturated
The exercise is to study data deeply and form your own diagnosis rather than accept the received one

“the most important intellectual tool we have is to think again”
Richard Rumelt · 52:00

“1929 everybody could afford a car had a car and the Auto industry began first science so the Great Depression in the Auto industry so…”
Richard Rumelt · 53:00

#diagnosis#great-depression#critical-thinking#insight

Explainer1:12:00

The Real Obstacle to Strategy Is Organizational Politics

Rumelt recounts Donald Rumsfeld asking whether academics had solved the problem of getting a group to align on a strategy — they haven't, beyond putting five to eight smart people in a room. Inside organizations the true blocker isn't ignorance; senior executives already know the challenges. It's diversity of interest and fear of action, which is why you need a hierarchy where someone finally decides.

Rumsfeld's insight: every expert disagrees and carries a private agenda, so information arrives loaded
Academics have no better answer than putting five to eight smart people in a room
Senior executives usually already know the challenges — they don't need consultants to find them
The blocker is diversity of interest and fear of action, not lack of knowledge
Action changes power relationships, so people resist it — hence you need a decider

“you should put five to eight smart people in a room and you tell him to come up with something”
Richard Rumelt · 1:13:30

“the problem of strategy inside an organization is diversity of interest and and fear of action”
Richard Rumelt · 1:15:30

#organizations#politics#leadership#rumsfeld

Explainer1:20:30

A Startup Is a Bet — and the Survivors Switch

For founders pre-product-market-fit, Rumelt says strategy is making a bet, like a wildcatter betting on oil under the ground. Research on Silicon Valley startups shows almost all begin aiming at one product-market solution, and the ones that survive switch — customer by customer — until something clicks. Founders must hold two minds at once: conviction they'll win, and willingness to shift when it isn't working.

A startup is a bet; reality reveals itself in bits and pieces over time
Most startups begin targeting one product-market solution
The survivors switch customers and solutions over a year or two until something clicks
Founders need a 'double-jointed' skill: conviction of certain victory plus willingness to pivot
There's no predicting the future — the action agenda must adapt quickly as information arrives

“when you're a founder and a startup you're making a bet you're making a bet like an oil well wildhater would say I bet there's…”
Richard Rumelt · 1:21:00

“you got to be two minds You' got to be convinced of the certainty that you're going to win and you've got to be willing…”
Richard Rumelt · 1:23:00

#startups#product-market-fit#pivot#uncertainty

Story· 2

Story25:30

The Black Thread: Why Focus Needs Power and a Target

As a 9-year-old at summer camp, Rumelt failed to burn a piece of cloth with a magnifying glass until a counselor gave him a black thread — which caught instantly. The lesson: focused power alone isn't enough; you need a target that can actually be affected. A white thread won't burn; a black one will.

The magnifying glass focuses the sun's power to a single spot — that's focus
But you also need a target that can be affected: a black thread, not a white one
Strategic action requires both a source of power AND an addressable target
Concentration on a few things is the fundamental source of power in strategy

“to burn that black thread there has to be a source of power so there has to be a focus that's the magnifying Focus the…”
Richard Rumelt · 26:00

“it has to be a black thread not a white threat and that sequence is part of strategic strategic action”
Richard Rumelt · 26:30

#focus#power#concentration#story

Story1:19:30

How Nokia Lost Its Ability to Compete

Rumelt uses Nokia — once the world's leading smartphone maker — as a case of strategic failure. Two causes stand out: they replaced the engineers who ran the company with lawyers and accountants who lacked a feel for hardware-software issues, and they adopted a matrix organization that so diffused power that no one had authority to order the touchscreen phone the CEO kept demanding.

Nokia was the world's leading smartphone maker and lost its ability to compete
Engineers who ran the company were replaced by lawyers and accountants without a feel for the product
A matrix organization diffused power so widely that nobody was actually in charge
The CEO could demand a touchscreen phone, but no one had the authority to build one

“Nokia was the leading smart phone maker in the world and somehow it lost its ability to compete”
Richard Rumelt · 1:19:30

“they put in a matrix organization that so diffused power inside the organization that nobody was actually in charge”
Richard Rumelt · 1:20:00

#nokia#strategic-failure#matrix-org#case-study

Tool· 2

Tool1:26:30

Value Denial: Finding Business Ideas in What You Can't Buy

Rumelt's idea-generation exercise 'value denial' asks: what should you be able to buy but can't? Lost-baggage insurance, an on-time home remodeler, downtown luggage check-in. A companion exercise imagines the perfect version of an everyday object — the perfect window that lets in light but not glare, air but not noise or bugs — and the gaps reveal opportunities, often blocked only by materials or regulation.

Value denial: list things you should be able to buy but can't (e.g. baggage insurance, an on-time remodeler)
Salesforce started from asking how software should be — a web page, not a boxed computer program
The 'perfect window' exercise: let in light not glare, air not noise, air not bugs
Gaps between how something is and how it should be point to new businesses
Many opportunities are blocked by missing materials or by regulation (dealers, unions, underwriters)

“what is it that you should be able to buy but you can't”
Richard Rumelt · 1:26:30

“what's a perfect window oh perfect window should be transparent should let the sun in”
Richard Rumelt · 1:28:00

#idea-generation#value-denial#opportunity#innovation

Tool1:34:00

Rumelt's Reading List: Stories Over Theories

Asked what he recommends most, Rumelt names Roger Martin's Playing to Win and Andy Grove's Only the Paranoid Survive, but steers people toward biographies and history over strategy theory. He praises the Steve Jobs biography and the Rockefeller story — how Rockefeller drove kerosene from a dollar a gallon to ten cents. His point: understand stories, not just theories.

Playing to Win by Roger Martin — a strategy book he recommends
Only the Paranoid Survive by Andy Grove
The Steve Jobs biography and books about business leaders
Rockefeller as a case: dropped kerosene from a dollar to ten cents a gallon, an order-of-magnitude price cut
Read broadly about people; understand stories, not just theories

“I recommend uh Andy gr book only the paranoid survive”
Richard Rumelt · 1:35:00

“it's important to to understand stories not just theories but stories”
Richard Rumelt · 1:36:00

#book-recommendations#biographies#rockefeller#reading

Takeaway· 2

Takeaway43:00

The Restaurant Test: Where Is Your Source of Power?

If someone tells Rumelt their strategy is to open a new restaurant, his answer is: don't — invest in the index instead, because statistically new restaurants fail. The only reason to override the base odds is a genuine asymmetry. 'I really want to succeed' isn't enough; training under a successful chef starts to be a real answer.

Statistically, most new restaurants fail — the base odds are against you
Wanting to succeed is not a source of power
You need a concrete asymmetry that tilts the odds in your favor
Strategy is finding the information, skill, or resource arrangement that gives you an edge

“so what makes you think is that you can succeed oh I really want to succeed not good enough”
Richard Rumelt · 43:30

“where's the Symmetry here where's the source of power”
Richard Rumelt · 43:30

#asymmetry#odds#entrepreneurship#power

Takeaway47:00

Why Strategists Should Read History and Biographies

Because there's no science of strategy — no equations like in physics or engineering — strategic thinking relies on analogy to prior human experience. Rumelt urges reading business history, biographies, and world history so you have a stock of other times and places to draw on when facing a novel situation.

There is no science of strategy — it's not like physics or engineering with solvable equations
Strategic reasoning works by analogy to previous human experience
Without access to other times, places, and events, it's hard to think strategically
Read biographies and history broadly, not just theory

“if you don't have access to other times and other places and other things that have happened it's very hard to think strategically about the…”
Richard Rumelt · 47:30

“there isn't a science of strategy it's not like physics it's not like engineering”
Richard Rumelt · 47:30

#history#biographies#learning#analogy

Key ideas

Frameworks in this episode

Focusing Power on an Addressable Target

Spotting Bad Strategy

The Action Agenda (Ambition-Filter Method)

The Crux: Insight Through Immersion

The Foundry: Facilitating a Group to One Action Agenda

The Kernel of Good Strategy

The Value Deny: Finding Opportunity in What You Can't Buy

People & resources mentioned

People · 20

Resources · 32

Insights & moments

◆Hot Take· 3

Don't Call It a Strategy, Call It an Action Agenda

Strategy Is Insight, Not Picking From a List

Leadership Has Displaced Management — and That's a Problem

✶Explainer· 6

The Telltale Signs of Bad Strategy

Power Is an Asymmetry — And Yesterday's Edge Becomes Today's Handicap

Network Effects: The Dominant Source of Power Today

Real Diagnosis: Don't Cling to the First Plank

The Real Obstacle to Strategy Is Organizational Politics

A Startup Is a Bet — and the Survivors Switch

❝Story· 2

The Black Thread: Why Focus Needs Power and a Target

How Nokia Lost Its Ability to Compete

✦Tool· 2

Value Denial: Finding Business Ideas in What You Can't Buy

Rumelt's Reading List: Stories Over Theories

▲Takeaway· 2

The Restaurant Test: Where Is Your Source of Power?

Why Strategists Should Read History and Biographies

Hot Take· 3

Explainer· 6

Story· 2

Tool· 2

Takeaway· 2