A story is not a strategy.
Yet in many organisations, strategy has become just that: an inspiring tale, wrapped in data, presented in pretty slides and measured by OKRs and KPIs.
How did we get here?
Business schools taught generations of managers to think in case studies — tidy narratives layered over messy realities — offering a comforting illusion of certainty: do A + B, and you’ll get X.
But case studies oversimplify reality. They encourage us to paint by numbers, following a pre-set pattern — and when it fails, we blame “corporate culture” or “execution.”
Real strategy is different.
It often means doing something you’ve never done before — like entering a new market or adopting a new technology — and figuring it out as you go. You spot openings. Learn from mistakes. Adapt on the fly.
Retelling it as a story later — as if it was all part of a master plan — only makes other leaders feel like imposters.
Because strategy isn’t what you say — it’s what you do, how you learn and adapt. (More on that here: https://powermaps.net/tpost/yll3d13u91-chapter-6-miscalculations-mistakes-and-s)
That’s why so many leaders today say they’re “being tactical.” But what they really mean is: finally, they’re acting strategically — not spinning stories, but making moves in real time and course correcting as they go.
And that’s how you become more effective — as a leader and as an organisation.
In this blog series, I’ll unpack this evolving approach to strategy — and show how you can use it too.
Yet in many organisations, strategy has become just that: an inspiring tale, wrapped in data, presented in pretty slides and measured by OKRs and KPIs.
How did we get here?
Business schools taught generations of managers to think in case studies — tidy narratives layered over messy realities — offering a comforting illusion of certainty: do A + B, and you’ll get X.
But case studies oversimplify reality. They encourage us to paint by numbers, following a pre-set pattern — and when it fails, we blame “corporate culture” or “execution.”
Real strategy is different.
It often means doing something you’ve never done before — like entering a new market or adopting a new technology — and figuring it out as you go. You spot openings. Learn from mistakes. Adapt on the fly.
Retelling it as a story later — as if it was all part of a master plan — only makes other leaders feel like imposters.
Because strategy isn’t what you say — it’s what you do, how you learn and adapt. (More on that here: https://powermaps.net/tpost/yll3d13u91-chapter-6-miscalculations-mistakes-and-s)
That’s why so many leaders today say they’re “being tactical.” But what they really mean is: finally, they’re acting strategically — not spinning stories, but making moves in real time and course correcting as they go.
And that’s how you become more effective — as a leader and as an organisation.
In this blog series, I’ll unpack this evolving approach to strategy — and show how you can use it too.
