Episode 17. No-Strategy Approach: Embrace Layered Strategic Thinking Instead

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quot If you define the problem correctly you almost have the solution quot Steve JobsThere s an old joke A man was walking through the desert and found an old brass lamp He rubbed the lamp and a genie popped out of it Listen said the genie I am too old so I can grant any wish but only one So think carefully The man thought for an hour or so and then said quot I wish I had everything quot No problem man the genie replied A soft chime sounded and the genie said Now you already had everything We can paraphrase Steve Job s statement from the epigraph as If you define the task incorrectly you ll never find the solution Or you can find it but it will be a solution to another task That s what happens when companies start crafting a strategy They begin with the wrong goals and pick the wrong tools and then they are left puzzling about what went wrong If the engine s dead no point in pumping the tires Fix the engine Learn more from this episode