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Not sure your strategy is clear?
Ask 3 people to explain it back.
If the answers don't match, your strategy isn't working - it's just words on a page. Rewrite until their answers sound like a chorus. Strategy isn't just about direction. It's about shared language.
The best leaders simplify trade-offs.
They don't avoid the tough calls. They make the path feel obvious - even when it isn't.
Don't just ask: “Why now?” Ask: “What gets dropped if we do this?”
Passionate founders can find a hundred reasons why everything matters. Revenue. Growth. Strategy. Buzzwords galore. But trade-offs force clarity. If nothing gets cut, it's not a real decision.
No one starts with a perfect strategy. That's just not how it works.
You set a few goals, spot the obvious roadblocks and take your first steps. How about the rest you might ask? You figure it out along the way. Just keep an eye on the market and overall trends and adjust your strategy as needed. And yeah, unexpected problems will pop up. That's normal though. They aren't failures - just part of the process. Every setback teaches you something.
A plan points you in the right direction, but real clarity comes from doing the work. The teams that adapt, adjust, and keep moving - especially when things feel uncertain - are the ones that make real progress.
So don't wait for the “perfect” plan. Just start. You'll get there.
The word "agility" has lost its meaning.
The word itself went on a journey from being cool to becoming a buzzword. Teams seem to avoid using the word "agile" because it's no longer considered cool.
The reason for this is that quite often, agility is used as a way to mimic strategy.
It becomes a way to justify changes in direction - simply because you're agile.
The underlying problem, however, is the lack of strategy driving that movement.
Strategy is like a map. With broad strokes, you can outline your obstacles - the mountains, so to speak - that you need to navigate to reach your destination, your vision.
Interestingly, anything close by might appear foggy. You can't see it clearly but you can see the destination.
Sometimes, as you move forward, you encounter obstacles you didn't foresee, things that were hidden. It could be something small, like a lake. So you pause, check out the lake and consider the best way to handle it.
That's your agility - helping you navigate these small obstacles and unforeseen challenges without losing sight of the destination.
Is Agile dead?
The word might be dead but businesses that succeed combine an explicit strategy with a willingness to adapt. These businesses will move much faster than those relying solely on strategy or agility. You need both to succeed.
A successful product balances execution and vision. As Melissa Perri highlights, it's not just about delivering but steering in the right direction. Markets shift. Challenges arise. Opportunities emerge. Pivoting with purpose defines lasting success.
A good company strategy should be made up of two parts: the operational framework, or how to keep the day-to-day activities of a company moving; and the strategic framework, or how the company realizes the vision through product and service development in the market.
Agility is misunderstood. True agility adapts to change without succumbing to chaos. It's never about rushing decisions.
The best teams balance flexibility and structure. Agility thrives on collaboration, iterative progress and responsiveness - anchored by clear direction. Without this balance, chaos replaces speed and quality falls victim to a mirage of progress.
Agile isn't a strategy. It's how strategies breathe.
