How to write a strategy your managers can repeat
Most strategy decks die in the first all-hands. Here is a simple test for whether a plan survives being retold by the people who have to run it.
DO
SM
Daniel Osei
,
Sarah Mitchell
5 min read
Most strategy decks die in the first all-hands. Not because the strategy is wrong, but because nobody below the leadership team can repeat it a week later.
The retelling test
Ask three managers to explain the strategy to their team without slides. Then ask those teams what they heard. If the answers match, the strategy is clear. If they drift, it is not finished.
Write it on one page
A repeatable strategy fits on one page: where we will win, what we will stop doing, and the two or three numbers that tell us it is working. Anything longer is a plan, which is useful, but different.
Where we will compete, and where we will not
What we stop doing this year
How we will know it is working
Use plain words
If a sentence needs a glossary, rewrite it. Managers repeat what they can say comfortably out loud.
Written by
DO
Daniel Osei
Strategy Lead
SM
Sarah Mitchell
Managing Partner
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