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6 Ways to Make Strategy Resonate with Skeptical Leaders

Leaders often dismiss formal strategy as bureaucratic, yet the article argues that this skepticism creates a "strategy deficit"—a gap between the choices an organization makes and the clarity it communicates. Drawing on 30 years of advisory work, the author outlines six practical actions to turn strategy into a concise set of recurring decisions that anyone in the firm can apply. These steps include defining strategy as a few trade‑offs, using live decisions to surface choices, testing new‑leader briefs, mapping recurring trade‑offs, leveraging AI to synthesize existing artifacts, and shock‑testing the resulting framework. By embedding strategy in everyday judgment, skeptical CEOs can see it as a decision‑making advantage rather than a distraction.