In business, we define profit as a financial benefit that is realized when the amount of revenue gained from a business activity exceeds the expenses. Do you live a profitable life? Or, are you putting in much more than you’re gaining? Too often, we spend countless hours in work or other activities and feel frustrated because we’re not getting much out of it. Take the quiz below to find out if you live strategically. 1.  Do you have a… READ MORE

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When you’re trying to do too much at work, it’s like a Strategy Pizza with everything. Imagine eating a pizza with 25 toppings – sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, anchovies, peppers, spinach, bacon, ham, pineapple, onion rings, potato skins – wow, I’m getting hungry just thinking about that. BUT it’s too much – it’s messy, it tastes bad and it’s hard to eat. When you try to be all things to all people in business, you get the same results – a… READ MORE

February’s combination of snowdrifts and Valentine’s Day seems like the appropriate time to respond to some of the most pressing reader letters regarding strategy. So here goes: Dear Strategy Guy: The SVP of our Division requires us to fill out a 40-slide PowerPoint template, which we then turn into a 20-page written strategic plan. Problem is, the plan basically sits on a shelf collecting dust the rest of the year and we don’t really use it…. READ MORE

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I recently had the honor of working with five-time Grammy Award winning hip hop artist Stra-Da-Gee. I consulted on the lyrics for his new song “Strat Plan” which describes the follies of strategic planning. Take a listen to the rap below and see how many of the strategic planning traps your organization has fallen into in the past. Strat Plan… READ MORE

People like to make strategy complex. I don’t. It’s essence is as simple as a Dr. Seuss book: I am strategic. Strategic I am. Do you like to think strategically? I do not like to think strategically, not in an office not in a tree. It’s more fun to think tactically, stuff I can touch, stuff I can see. I do not like to think strategically, I haven’t the time to be so leisurely. Setting good plans, I’ll leave to… READ MORE