Unveiling Strategy
Defining Its True Nature and Debunking Common Misconceptions
6th March 2025 | James Weeks
Image: Chessboard Symbolising Strategic Complexity
In the modern context, strategy has become both a buzzword and a generalist term for an array of definitions that are either a gross misinterpretation or entirely false.
It has been likened to a long-term plan, competition, winning, and vague and somewhat confusing terms like ‘doing the right thing at the right time.’
If any of the aforementioned descriptions are your understanding of strategy, you are not alone. Many misinterpret strategy unintentionally through a lack of valid understanding, or by trying to mystify it so much that, in their pursuit to sound grandiose, they completely miss the mark and stray far from what strategy is and what it entails.
In this article, we will unpack common misconceptions and offer clarity on what strategy is and, importantly, is not.
What is Strategy?
In its simplest form:
Strategy is the deliberate process of making informed, prioritised, and interconnected choices, then orchestrating adaptable efforts to drive progress toward a well-defined, desirable outcome.
Sounds straightforward, doesn't it? For further clarity, let's go through it.
Deliberate Process
Strategy is not an arbitrary process. It is intentful, organised, and grounded in critical thought. Rather than being adrift, reactive, or hopeful in chance, strategy is enveloped in purpose, and it is clarity of purpose that fuels deliberation. Every move is premeditated. Every scenario is gamed. Strategy plays forward, not backwards.
Informed, Prioritised, and Interconnected Choices
Choices of what to follow and what to reject are not made haphazardly or in isolation. They present themselves through directed inquiry, the acquisition of key information, and are filtered through sound judgement.
Every choice in strategy is made for a reason — nothing is random. And those choices must play to a whole: they should complement, fortify, or move in tandem with one another.
This interconnectivity is what gives strategy its shape, and it is this very interconnected relationship that forms a cohesive foundation. Without it, you're not executing a strategy — you're just making a series of unrelated moves and hoping that things will miraculously add up.
Orchestrated Adaptable Efforts
A skilled strategist is an orchestrator of effort. Through orchestration, people, resources, measures, and time are not merely applied — they are artfully harmonised to maximise efficiency and serve the bigger picture through coordinated exploits. In this, strategy expresses its truest nature: alignment in motion.
But when orchestration is half-hearted, lethargic, or poorly executed, the consequences are swift. You get silos. Fragmentation. A directionless mix of competing aspirations — a collection of detached efforts that lead nowhere.
Just as harmful as detachment through poor orchestration is failure to adapt.
Because strategy is motion, it is vulnerable — to disruption by competitive forces, folly through complacency and arrogance, and irrelevance when the environment shifts. Without adaptation, even a sound strategy risks decay. Without relevance, it fails altogether.
For more about adaptation, learn about the Alstradev Cycle.
Progress Toward a Well-defined, desirable outcome
Strategy, by its very nature, is progressive and therefore has to have a focal point—a destination to which orchestrated efforts and adaptable, coordinated exploits are purposely directed. Without this, movement becomes meaningless. You are not making progress; you are just unnecessarily active.
A desirable outcome is not just a conceptual hope — it's a foreseen reality that guides decisions, prioritises measures, and sharpens focus. When chaos strikes and turmoil seems to be commonplace, it is the north star that lights the path.
Debunking Common Misconceptions
With a precise understanding of what strategy is and what it entails, let’s now address the standard misinterpretations we hear repeatedly.
Misconception 1: Strategy is a long-term plan
The most common misconception of strategy is that it’s simply a long-term plan. A plan, by characterisation, is a sequential, step-by-step set of intentions that, if nothing hinders it, will go on to achieve a goal.
In reality, a plan is a rigid time bomb set to blow the moment it encounters an obstacle, variable or a reaction from another player. This is also sometimes true even before implementation due to the time-sensitive nature of data.
On the other hand, strategy knows no constraints of rigidity and is not as easily immobilised by competitive engagement. Its adaptive nature allows it to pivot, evolve and re-modify either with or preemptively to the constantly changing world.
In essence, a strategy is a living, breathing, learning organism continuously adjusting to new information and circumstances. A plan is just a plan and will never be more.
Misconception 2: Strategy is competition
There are countless so-called “gurus” out there who have you believe that strategy is solely about competition, but this idea is fundamentally incorrect.
To suggest this is to overlook the various levels of strategy, the complicated dynamics of partnerships and collaborations, customer-centricity, and essential support systems.
While there is a hint of truth that competition is a central theme in strategy, this perspective is primarily relevant to business-level strategy.
Even so, while competition is a significant element of a business strategy, it should be viewed alongside collaboration, innovation, and customer engagement as integral components that shape overall strategic direction.
Misconception 3: Strategy is doing the right thing at the right time
This definition falls short on multiple fronts and showcases ignorance and lack of understanding concerning strategy’s intricate nature.
The word “doing” implies action, which, although a vital component in overall strategy, is primarily concerned with the tactical stage and, as such, disregards the totality of critical and complex concerns.
Additionally, it is an oversimplified indefinite statement that fails to communicate the art form and finesse needed to formulate and execute in a high-stakes, belligerent world.
Most crucially, it is a reactive stance that, in practical application, will fail to acquire the momentum needed for progression and innovation and will quickly make you irrelevant as you sit there and hope the right moment will fall in your lap — a moment that may never come, by the way.
Yes, strategy is about exploiting crucial moments when opportunities present themselves. However, more often than not, an effective strategy involves forging a preferable reality by altering outcomes and competitive efforts to tip the balance in your favour. When executed successfully, this proactive approach allows you to identify a window of opportunity before it fully emerges and align your tactics accordingly, maximising your chances of attaining a favourable position and advancing toward your desired outcome.
Misconception 4: Strategy is winning
Victory is a tempest — momentarily enveloping, yet fickle and never truly possessed. The moment you think you’ve grasped her, she shifts the winds and turns the tides.
To sum strategy up as winning is a dangerous notion. A win is a transient occasion that can not only make you complacent, but also provoke competitors to come at you harder. Its initial timing presents your most vulnerable juncture.
Strategy is not about winning — winning implies finality, and there is no ending in this game so long as you are an active player. More accurately, strategy is about longevity — and just like favourable positions or a desired outcome, it not only needs to be attained, but maximised and sustained.
When we see strategy as more attuned to longevity than merely winning, we create a mindset that is more attentive to not losing. This, in turn, mitigates risk, prevents complacency, and ultimately not only allows you to attain a win, but also to maximise its benefits and defend it with intent.
The Pitfalls of Thinking Strategy Is Easy
Although strategy, when summarised in its simplest form, may seem straightforward — come up with a desired outcome, make choices, orchestrate efforts, and drive progress toward that outcome — don’t underestimate the complexity of its process and intricate nature.
A truly effective strategy demands skill, attention to detail, and an acute awareness of its multidimensional requirements, all culminating in careful alignment.
This complexity only deepens when rival players enter the fray. Foresight, innovation, schemes and manoeuvres, trade-offs and payoffs will follow, along with additional regards that come with this complex world we navigate.
We tell you this not to dissuade you from strategy; on the contrary, I wish to inform you that rivals well-versed in the game will make your endeavours exceedingly difficult if you are not pragmatic.
Conclusion
The essence of strategy transcends the oversimplified explanations common in the world today. It is not merely a long-term plan, competition, or singular focus. Instead, strategy is a deliberate, well-crafted process that demands informed decision-making, coordinated actions, and an unwavering commitment to adaptation.
By identifying the complex nature of strategy, organisations and individuals can navigate challenges more effectively and capitalise on opportunities with intent.
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