Strategy = story. Why great business leaders rely on storytelling instead of boring slides

There are 2 types of founders:

• Ones that throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks
• Ones that have clear goals and strategy

Most beginners follow the first approach.

And most of them either become a smarter, second type. Or fail.

Strategy is how your business achieves its goals.

And if you peel it layer by layer, you realize a simple fact:

Strategy is storytelling

You tell where we came from - founding story.

You tell why we can’t continue with status quo - and need to make a change.

You tell where do we want to be - your vision and North Star.

Finally, you tell how are we going to get there - that’s strategy.

Strategy is the narrative of your company’s existence, a bridge between the current pain and the future win.

Bad strategy

Bad strategy is a 100-page slide deck full of stuff that no one cares about.

Some person on the team, or even a dedicated group of consultants spent weeks making it.

Then the whole team assembled together once to look at it.

None of them remembered anything.

They returned to their job of putting out constant fires in the business.

This is what many founders think when they hear “strategy”, especially “corporate strategy”.

Something that NEEDS to be done for the sake of it (because you heard that it’s important), instead of something that you WANT to happen regularly (because it solves real issues better than any hack or tactic).

This doesn’t just result in bad strategy.

It’s bad leadership.

No inspiration.

No purpose.

No magnet for great talent.

Good strategy is the opposite of that

It follows a narrative arc I talked about:

• Acknowledges the struggle
• Identifies the villain (the status quo you can’t stand)
• Paints a picture of the promised land (the vision)
• Decides on the game that you’re going to play
• Maps the general HOW - to win that game

When a leader tells a strategy story, the team hears: “The industry is broken, our customers are suffering, and we are the only ones who can fix it by doing X (instead of Y)”

It makes them believe in your story.

It clarifies your mission and vision.

It inspires them to work.

The Marketing team knows what to say.

The Product team knows what to build.

Everyone in the company:

• understands what to do
• actually do it
• love it

That’s the foundation for real alignment, not chaotic forgettable syncs once a month.

This is the whole point of leadership.

Leaders who win don’t just give orders. They provide context.

Because they understand that a human being will work twice as hard for a story they believe in than they will for a “target” they’re told to hit.

That’s why strategy equipped with good storytelling is the best tool for leaders.

Leaders who tell long, boring and confusing stories - lose.

Leaders who tell no stories at all - lose.

Leaders who know how to tell a great story - win and create legendary companies, because they attract and retain legendary talent.

Building a legendary company starts with a legendary narrative.

How to tell a good strategy story

Step 1 - Understand why story matters for business.

Step 2 - Learn 3 rules of storytelling in business.

Step 3 - Learn to avoid the biggest mistake in business storytelling.

Step 4 - Learn the difference between “past” and “future” stories.

Finally - Put your ideas into writing with 3 basic steps.

And of course - join the newsletter. That’s what I write about, every week.