The Crux: How Leaders Become Strategists

Working with this group, the turning point came around the idea of a critical winnable challenge

One of the most common tools of diagnosis is analogy—making connections to similar situations.

The most powerful tool for diagnosis is reframing the situation. At the simplest level, a “frame” is a way of looking at a situation. There are literally hundreds of academic papers on the subject, but a frame is simply a person’s point of view on something. Often, individuals have developed frames that work for them and the organization. The frame

Strategy is a form of problem solving, and you cannot solve a problem you have not understood. Deepening your understanding of the challenges being faced is the process of diagnosis. In diagnosis the strategist seeks to understand why certain challenges have become salient, about the forces at work, and why the challenge seems difficult.

Diagnosis is quickened by introducing alternative analogies and frames that highlight different issues and different patterns of causation.

When done well, coherence doesn’t jump out and smack you on the head. It just looks sensible.

She was hired to administer the agency, like someone who manages an apartment complex. Without sufficient executive power, she could not direct its purpose or even intervene much in how it carried out its functions.

strategy is a mixture of policy and action designed to surmount a crucial challenge

There is an old aphorism that the key to strategy is playing the games you can win. Of course, life is not a game, nor is corporate management or statecraft. But the essential idea of focusing where you can “win” is neither trivial nor always followed.