I read this book after seeing a lot of recommendations in HN comments, and boy did it deliver. Other Rumelt's books are great too, but this one really reshapes your understanding of such an overused word as "strategy".
This is nice and I enjoyed reading your experiences, though this is wrong:
> Wisdom is possessing a beyond-expert vocabulary of effective tactics that will work in a given discipline at that time.
Wisdom is the ability to navigate ignorance. Wise people do not fail when they are ignorant, they proceed with humble caution until the unknowable challenges are behind them.
Let me guess, you’re an ESTJ? I know, it isn’t fair, your brain is optimized for literal perception, not to see the world as a framework of principles. Though you generate abstract principles from your experience, so you and the product of your efforts can be appreciated by those who value principles.
Strategy is knowing how to frame and manipulate the rules of “the game”. And tactics are specific applications for exploiting those rules.
> This is the first rule of strategy: strategy is contextual.
... Is there any aspect of anything business related that isn't contextual? Tactics are even more contextual than strategy. Optimisation is contextual. Programming is contextual. Sales is contextual. Cleaning is contextual, sometimes people leave contextual notes out saying "don't clean this desk".
The big problem with strategy is it is so contextual that you cannot, in fact, write a general article on "Getting More Strategic". Without a specific context to be strategic in, all that is left is a generic call to make good decisions. Which is a nice sentiment, but void of useful meaning. This article doesn't actually say very much, there is a high rate of platitudes because there isn't any context to talk about.
Strategy is how to decide which tactics to use. If your tactics are polished and well done, basic strategy will be enough. If the tactics are sub-par, I recommend a strategy of learning to execute better.
Yes, although the author tells us right away that "one of [their] ongoing obsessions" is "how to be seen as strategic". Hence writing the piece and getting it posted on HN.
by far the best content on strategy I have read is Peter Compo, a point he repeatedly makes is that the whole execution argument is meaningless without a strategy (and its many tactics, plans, compromises) to execute. So, what are you executing?
Execute basics like making a good product, answering your customer emails, keeping up on the utilities, etc. Basics you know you'll have to do regardless of strategy.
There's an old Drucker quote "there's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."
If you're in the wrong market or building for the wrong customers you can execute brilliantly on everything you mentioned and it won't matter. The only thing that matters is product market fit or finding it if you don't have it. That's what I see as unsaid in your parent's comment about "execute what though?"
I read this book after seeing a lot of recommendations in HN comments, and boy did it deliver. Other Rumelt's books are great too, but this one really reshapes your understanding of such an overused word as "strategy".
Can anyone recommend a good summary?
After skimming a few, I think this is a good one: https://jlzych.com/2018/06/27/notes-from-good-strategy-bad-s...
Though a lot of the value of the book is in the examples, so if you like the summary, I'd encourage you to read the whole thing.
I guess I’m an “under-indexed person” (whatever that is) because I didn’t really enjoy that.
I’ve always been a Porter guy when it comes to business strategy though. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter's_generic_strategies
Non-mobile link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porter's_generic_strategies
> It’s never been easier to be DDOS’d by the job and think that means we’re doing a good one
Loved this line; a good reminder!
Here are some of my thoughts on strategy vs tactics: https://jonpauluritis.com/articles/books-strategy-tactics/
This is nice and I enjoyed reading your experiences, though this is wrong:
> Wisdom is possessing a beyond-expert vocabulary of effective tactics that will work in a given discipline at that time.
Wisdom is the ability to navigate ignorance. Wise people do not fail when they are ignorant, they proceed with humble caution until the unknowable challenges are behind them.
Let me guess, you’re an ESTJ? I know, it isn’t fair, your brain is optimized for literal perception, not to see the world as a framework of principles. Though you generate abstract principles from your experience, so you and the product of your efforts can be appreciated by those who value principles.
Strategy is knowing how to frame and manipulate the rules of “the game”. And tactics are specific applications for exploiting those rules.
What’s an “under-indexed” person?
I don’t know but it made me stop reading
> This is the first rule of strategy: strategy is contextual.
... Is there any aspect of anything business related that isn't contextual? Tactics are even more contextual than strategy. Optimisation is contextual. Programming is contextual. Sales is contextual. Cleaning is contextual, sometimes people leave contextual notes out saying "don't clean this desk".
The big problem with strategy is it is so contextual that you cannot, in fact, write a general article on "Getting More Strategic". Without a specific context to be strategic in, all that is left is a generic call to make good decisions. Which is a nice sentiment, but void of useful meaning. This article doesn't actually say very much, there is a high rate of platitudes because there isn't any context to talk about.
Strategy is how to decide which tactics to use. If your tactics are polished and well done, basic strategy will be enough. If the tactics are sub-par, I recommend a strategy of learning to execute better.
Yes, although the author tells us right away that "one of [their] ongoing obsessions" is "how to be seen as strategic". Hence writing the piece and getting it posted on HN.
execute what though?
by far the best content on strategy I have read is Peter Compo, a point he repeatedly makes is that the whole execution argument is meaningless without a strategy (and its many tactics, plans, compromises) to execute. So, what are you executing?
Execute basics like making a good product, answering your customer emails, keeping up on the utilities, etc. Basics you know you'll have to do regardless of strategy.
There's an old Drucker quote "there's nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all."
If you're in the wrong market or building for the wrong customers you can execute brilliantly on everything you mentioned and it won't matter. The only thing that matters is product market fit or finding it if you don't have it. That's what I see as unsaid in your parent's comment about "execute what though?"