Strategy is Saying No

This phrase comes up a lot in the business literature. Still, so many organizations act as if strategy means “let’s take on new things and still do all of the old things.” The problem is, when you decide to do that, then you are creating a focus problem for your team. Sure, organizations need to try new things. But they should be tried out with the understanding, “If this new thing works, then we will phase out this other thing that isn’t working.” And you never really know for sure, do you, because we have to make these decisions with inadequate information. Maybe that’s why we avoid making them.