Why strategy sessions fail
Most strategy sessions fail for one of two reasons:
Situational Awareness Sessions solve this by aligning your team around a shared picture of how your organisation creates value, how the market is shifting, and where the new opportunities are.
No more guesswork. No more bias. Just clarity, insight and smarter strategic decisions.
- No shared data — so people argue opinions instead of facts.
- Conflicting data — as everyone defends their preferred option.
Situational Awareness Sessions solve this by aligning your team around a shared picture of how your organisation creates value, how the market is shifting, and where the new opportunities are.
No more guesswork. No more bias. Just clarity, insight and smarter strategic decisions.
Before deciding how you’re going to win, you must first see clearly where you are today, what’s changing around you, and what options you really have.
We start by mapping how your organisation creates value today and how your market is evolving — revealing threats, opportunities, and options for action.
Then we ask the question that cuts through opinions: “What would have to be true for this move to succeed?” This drives targeted discovery — gathering relevant data about customers, costs, capabilities, and competitors.
Now you’re ready for a real strategy session — aligned, evidence-based, and ready to shape the future to your advantage.
We start by mapping how your organisation creates value today and how your market is evolving — revealing threats, opportunities, and options for action.
Then we ask the question that cuts through opinions: “What would have to be true for this move to succeed?” This drives targeted discovery — gathering relevant data about customers, costs, capabilities, and competitors.
Now you’re ready for a real strategy session — aligned, evidence-based, and ready to shape the future to your advantage.
Pre-strategy sessions: an essential first step
Selected Previous Sessions
- -1-Competing Against Giants
A small player under extreme competitive pressure from market leaders. Mapping revealed niche spaces they could dominate. Outcome: Clear differentiation through asymmetric advantage.
- -2-Overcoming Growing Pains
A multinational stuck in firefighting mode. Situational Awareness sessions cut through the noise, clarifying priorities. Outcome: Leadership aligned around clear strategic priorities.
- -3-Identifying New Strategic Directions
A major distributor facing a steep decline. Mapping challenged assumptions of Executive team, revealing new growth areas to target. Outcome: Fresh strategic options in a shifting market.
- -4-Creating Team Alignment
A digital platform looking to scale globally needed wider buy in. A two-day session aligned teams around the strategic direction. Outcome: Clarity across functions, now ready for expansion.
Contact me directly and let’s discuss how better situational awareness can help you move faster — and with more confidence.
No sales pitch. Just a candid, peer-level conversation about making better strategic decisions in uncertain times.
No sales pitch. Just a candid, peer-level conversation about making better strategic decisions in uncertain times.
Need to sharpen your strategic edge?
Marcus Guest MBA
Founder, PowerMaps
Founder, PowerMaps
We equip leaders with 40 proven principles drawn from the world’s most adaptive organisations — based on research across Silicon Valley and Shenzhen.
These principles form a practical playbook for leaders to anticipate change early and respond faster than competitors.
This isn’t just training — it’s an operating system for modern leadership in times of uncertainty and change.
These principles form a practical playbook for leaders to anticipate change early and respond faster than competitors.
This isn’t just training — it’s an operating system for modern leadership in times of uncertainty and change.
High-AQ organisations thrive on change
Participants apply what they learn from day one, using 12 structured workbooks to tackle real challenges in your business.
Each phase builds capability and confidence — so leaders can shape change, not just respond to it.
- Identify Right Moves (months 1-4): Leaders visualise the strategic challenge and identify breakthrough moves using maps.
- Execute Effectively (months 5-9): They lead their teams to execute moves using proven operating principles.
- Build on Success (months 10-12): They embed new capabilities across the organisation for lasting competitive advantage.
Each phase builds capability and confidence — so leaders can shape change, not just respond to it.
A practical, phased approach to building AQ
This is a unique program! It’s a combination of a practical tool and a transformational mindset … Recently, I found myself wanting to go through all the lessons on my own, slowly, and practice purely for myself. Why? I see that this is what gives me an actual leadership ‘superpower’!
— Country Manager, Kazakhstan
It taught me to zoom in and out — like using a magnifying glass — to understand projects from multiple perspectives. That’s made my strategic thinking much stronger.
— Head of Logistics, Kazakhstan
This will change your thinking, making it broader and more flexible … but be warned — there might be some resistance at first, because we think we already know everything … but the further along the program you go, the more the logic makes sense and you’ll want to apply it everywhere.
— Country Manager, Uzbekistan
This program gave me the tools to analyse any situation — I just open the templates and get to work. But more importantly, I've learned how to build a team by setting clearer goals and explaining what I need better. This gets us from words to action faster. It really works!
— Head of Customer Support, Russia
This is a unique program! It’s a combination of a practical tool and a transformational mindset … Recently, I found myself wanting to go through all the lessons on my own, slowly, and practice purely for myself. Why? I see that this is what gives me an actual leadership ‘superpower’!
— Country Manager, Kazakhstan
This will change your thinking, making it broader and more flexible … but be warned — there might be some resistance at first, because we think we already know everything … but the further along the program you go, the more the logic makes sense and you’ll want to apply it everywhere.
— Country Manager, Uzbekistan
It taught me to zoom in and out — like using a magnifying glass — to understand projects from multiple perspectives. That’s made my strategic thinking much stronger.
— Head of Logistics, Kazakhstan
This program gave me the tools to analyse any situation — I just open the templates and get to work. But more importantly, I've learned how to build a team by setting clearer goals and explaining what I need better. This gets us from words to action faster. It really works!
— Head of Customer Support, Russia
If you’re responsible for preparing leaders to thrive in a fast-changing world, Leadership Through Strategy™ offers a proven, research-driven framework — built for real-world impact.
Ready to develop more adaptive leaders?
Marcus Guest MBA
Founder, PowerMaps
Founder, PowerMaps