Transcript: I’m going to be teaching some sessions on strategic planning pretty soon at a conference coming up, and my partner and I were working on what is strategy? What is this thing? And here’s the definition we came up with. You may have a different definition of strategy, but people want to often know what is strategy and how does it apply to how you build and grow firms? Here’s what we came up with: strategy is the principle-based intentional methodology behind why, who, how, and when we do everything. Let me say that again in bite-sized pieces. Strategy is the principle-based… so strategy is guided by principles or beliefs, values, these big picture 5 to 7 big things that you believe, these guide the company. It’s in the very front of this definition of strategy. Strategy is the principle-based intentional, so strategy is very intentional, and a lot of times strategy is saying no to a lot of things. The strategy is what are you going to intentionally not do, that’s a very strategic behavior, and a lot of times just brainstorming all the things you would never do is a very strategic behavior.

Strategy is the principle-based intentional methodology. The methodology really is a lot of processes, execution, it’s a lot of down in the ditches work kind of stuff that everybody has to do to move a company forward. Methodology are the way your company does things. It’s like your top 10 core processes. Then, it’s behind the why, which is your purpose, the who, that’s choosing the right team, those who are the right fit for the seat that you design within this methodology. The how, that hearkens back to those processes and that methodology. And the when, the timing, and timing has a lot to do with prioritization, and if you’ve seen some of the talks have given at conferences you know that calendaring is a huge way we remain strategic.

Let me say this again to define strategy. Strategy is the principle-based intentional methodology behind why, who, how, and when we do everything. Hopefully, that’ll give you some guidance and put some boots on the ground to this theory of thought of strategy, and what it is, and how you use it. Let us know in the comments if that’s helpful, or if we can clarify that in any way. Thanks. Be cool.