Illustration by Alanah Sarginson
Summary.
Being strategic — that is, making a coherent set of choices to help you pursue an ambition or goal — is a nonnegotiable skill for business leaders. But it can be hard to practice, and strategies are notoriously hard to design and deliver. Sometimes we blame organizational obstacles. For example, micromanagement dampens enthusiasm for trying something new. Incentives encourage us to stick to the status quo. Poor communication makes it hard to know where to focus.