Strategy

Strategy comes from the Greek word strategia, meaning the art of the general. The generals invented and perfected this discipline in thousands of battles across centuries and millennia. Today, it is a much overused and misused term to primarily describe a plan of action or a list of tasks that a person or a business will take in the future.

So what is strategy? And how can one master it to win in business and life?

Strategy is, first and foremost, an art. There are no formulas that one can use to create a perfect strategy. There are no if-and-then algorithms that would make strategy into a science. As the ancient description suggests, it is an art of the general. It is the art of the commander. And the commander is always someone who can decide what to do.

Strategy is the art of making decisions; it is an art of choice.

But there is a system one can use to create a good strategy. Here it is:

Challenge Identify the challenge, a goal or a problem, you want your strategy to solve.

Constraints Uncover what could prevent you from overcoming this challenge.

Approach Figure out what method will you use to overcome this challenge.

Actions List a set of actions or initiatives that will dictate how you will overcome this challenge.