On Strategy Being Simple

I've seen strategy documents that run to forty pages. I've seen vision statements that require a glossary. I've seen goals so complex that the people responsible for delivering them couldn't remember them a week later.

None of those ever delivered what they promised.

The most effective strategic intent I've ever worked with was six words. Support and deliver operational excellence. That was it. One page. Signed by the whole leadership team.

It was the lens through which every decision was made on a $7bn development project. And it worked because it was simple enough to remember and clear enough to act on.

If your strategy can't fit on one page, it probably needs more thinking, not more words.