Strategy Distilled: Recent Episodes
Mike Baxter
A monthly concoction of insight, learning and things you might have missed for anyone who works on strategy, works with strategy or just loves strategy.
In this episode:
- ‘Destination’ and ‘path’ - two types of strategic commitment
- Strategy snippets on AI and its relation to strategy
In this episode:
- Five decisions you need to make about strategy before you start strategy development
- Deep Design Thinking: now available as a paperback and eBook. Free paperback copies to give away to subscribers.
- Strategy Distilled – The Archive (2021 – 2024): free to all subscribers – a themed compilation of articles from the first three years of 'Strategy Distilled'.
This month it is all about Deep Design Thinking for Strategy, a preview of a chapter of my forthcoming book on Deep Design Thinking, co-authored with my Dad, Seaton Baxter.
Strategy Distilled, April 2024
This month...
● ‘Engagement’ A missing ingredient in too many strategies
● Strategy snippets you might have missed: Vector theory of change by Dave Snowden and Differing views on strategic innovation.
In this episode:
- Strategy is for Everyone
- Strategy snippets on Addition Sickness and Technological Futures
Strategy Distilled January 2024
- Overcoming the complexity of strategy
- Strategy snippets on 'Strategy on a Page' and 'Subtraction as a Strategy'
In this episode:
- The case for strategy being limited to a handful of high-level goals
- Strategy snippets on i) Don't Fix Things. Write a New Story and ii) Strategy for environmental sustainability – what kind of ‘green’ are you?
In this month's episode:
- How to factor AI into your strategy
- Strategy snippets on organisational values and a strategy development error
In this episode:
- Building a writing culture for strategy
- Strategy snippets you might have missed:
- Moon-shots or roof-shots … from Google
- Five free hardback copies of the Strategy Manual
In this episode:
- Strategy as a model of causation
- Strategy snippets on Loretta Ross's Calling In framework and my own experience with ChatGPT moving from hallucinations to deceipt.
In this episode:
· Strategy flywheels and strategic synergy
· Strategy snippets on: i) A glossary of company values and ii) Design fiction
In this month's episode:
- The difference between core values and ‘what we care about’
- A strategy snippet you might have missed on Strategy = Insights^Conviction
In this episode:
•Justifying stakeholder consultation in strategy development
•A strategy snippet you might have missed: Just how JEDI are you?
In this episode:
- How to think big in strategy
- Strategy snippets on ‘Care’ as a big thinking theme for strategy and some wise words on strategy from Prof Susan Lea
In this month's episode:
- How strategy really works
- Strategy snippet on participative governance
In this month's episode:
- Get a free copy of my new ‘Core Values’ book
- The Case for Strategy Scoping
- Strategy snippets you might have missed: Decision rights for strategy; strategy quotes for 2023
In this episode:
My new book: 'Core Values' is published!
Spring cleaning your 'organisational debt'
I hope you haven't missed: Richard Rumelt's new-ish book, The Crux
This month it’s all about my reflections on writing and why I’m trying to write a short book on organisational core values in three weeks.
In this month's episode:
- What Douglas Engelbart has to tell us about strategy,
- Linda Hill on managing innovation within strategy,
- Adam Grant's Acts of Leadership.
In this month's episode:
- A new definition of strategy
- DICE instead of RACI
- The idea of strategic compression
In this month's episode:
- The role of values in strategy and the rise of people strategies
- If you want to change culture, change the language you use
- Strategic autonomy is enabled by clear intent and technical excellence
In this month's episode:
- Leading and lagging indicators as strategy metrics
- Google’s ‘simplicity sprint’
- Introducing the idea of ‘scruffy strategy’
In this month's episode:
- Separating Strategy from Strategic Planning
- How risky is innovation in your organisation?
- How well does your strategy travel?
- Minecraft’s values have bite
In this month's episode:
- The STEER framework to boost collaborative skills for strategy
- Snippets on strategy you may have missed: What if You had a Strategy and None of Your Employees Knew About It?;McKinsey’s Seven Step Problem-Solving Process
Strategy Distilled Newsletter April 2022 covers:
- Strategy as Design Thinking;
- Connecting strategy and culture;
- A broad view of strategy.
Strategy Distilled Newsletter April 2022 covers:
- Strategy governance from the boardroom to front-line teams
- Engaging middle managers on strategy
- Snippets on strategy you may have missed: Chain of beliefs in strategy; Tesler’s Law of the Conservation of Complexity and Chesterton’s Fence
Strategy Distilled Newsletter March 2022 covers:
- Strategy destination or strategy aspiration?
- Twelve questions I'm asked most frequently about strategy … and the models I typically reach for, to help answer them.
- Snippets on strategy you may have missed: @mikebxtr on Twitter; gaining control; strategic resilience.
Distillations in this newsletter ...
- The Triple Diamond Model of strategy – a brand new model from Goal Atlas.
- Can Ikigai reveal deficiencies in your strategy?
- Three books on strategy I've been enjoying that I thought you should know about.
Distillations in this newsletter ...
- Strategy KPIs: avoiding the tyranny of measurement
- Lessons for strategy from Pixar’s 22 rules for storytelling
- Snippets related to strategy you may have missed: on strategic decision-making and lessons on strategy from the Beatles.
Distillations in this newsletter. The ‘H’ model of strategy adoption - a new model released by Goal Atlas on Creative Commons, so you can use it in your own documents and presentations. How best to connect values with strategy. Social proof is this month's lesson for strategy from behavioural economics. And three snippets related to strategy you may have missed: A great quote on strategy adoption; the five types of people you'll meet when implementing change; in praise of Post-it notes.
Distillations in this newsletter: Strategy Healthcheck: a new tool from Goal Atlas for you to try; the perils of hedging strategy; a lesson from behavioural economics on loss aversion and snippets related to strategy you may have missed: Net Promoter Score 3.0 and Lessons on strategic innovation from Lego.
Distillations in this newsletter: The Strategy Manual – one year on. The Strategy Lifecycle Model - our new model released from Goal Atlas on Creative Commons. Lessons for strategy from other fields: This month we look at Antifragility. Three snippets related to strategy you might have missed: strategy and the eigenquestion; the 'hot streak' model of innovation; strategy and culture.
Distillations in this newsletter:Illusory superiority - a lesson from behavioural economics. The most important thing I learned this month – ‘process accountability’. How quantity trumps quality. What kind of strategist are you? The six roles required for strategy development.
What we need to know about framing - from behavioural economics, how to use frame-stretching and frame-setting to boost creativity in strategy development, the case for strategy workshops for your organisation. And three snippets on strategy you might have missed - Virgin Atlantic's double helix strategy, digital avoidance, as a strategy and the front-line paradox.
Five strategy lessons from Amazon that we can all learn from. The VACU model for strategic risk assessment. What is Confirmation Bias and why is it important in strategy work? Leadership lessons from Buurtzorg. How digital should your strategy be? Innovation environments must be safe-to-fail.