The first time I heard the word strategy, I was six or seven.
My brother and I spent a week at the cottage of our family friends, Russ and June. They were older than my parents by at least a decade. Their children were adults — out working, living real lives in the world.
I was the youngest of my parents’ four kids. And in that cottage, the gulf between me and everyone else felt massive. Out of place and adored all the same.
No Legos or Barbies here. Just real games. That’s when Russ taught me to play chess.
At first, I just tried to remember the name and role of each piece. Pawns move 1 spot. Knights move over and up by two? As I got better, so did my thinking.
“If I do this… he could do that.”
“And if he does that… it opens me up to…”
That’s when Russ said, “That’s strategy.”
I didn’t fully get it at the time, but I do remember feeling a little bit brilliant. It feels like a million years ago, but the principle is the same.
Strategy is perspective. Strategy is choice.
It’s deciding what game you’re playing and seeing the whole board before you plan your next move.
Fast forward to today. No shortage of ideas. Just abundance upon abundance. And equal opportunities to choose the wrong lane.
I feel it in my own business, and I see it in every organization I work with. The bottleneck isn’t execution.
We can publish in minutes. Launch in a day. AI will happily generate twenty versions before I finish my coffee.
The bottleneck is clarity.
Which lane are we in? Which game are we playing? What are we choosing not to pursue?
Michael Porter said: The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.
We have more power at our fingertips than ever before. Power is cheap now. Discernment is rare.
If your world feels full of good ideas right now, and the real challenge is deciding which ones matter, that’s where I come in.
This is some of my favourite work to do: helping leaders step back, look at the full board, and make clear, intentional moves.
If a Strategy Alignment conversation would be helpful, reply to this email.
We’ll figure out the game you’re playing and find the opportunity in the noise.
Russ would say that’s strategy.
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Mary
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