Picture yourself as a black knight on a chessboard. Lower yourself to board level and imagine your perspective. To your left and right, your fellow pieces stand in formation, poised for battle. Ahead, the stout pawns directly in front of you slightly obscure your view, beyond which the enemy appears as a distant sea of white. As a knight, you are aware of your capabilities and possess a basic understanding of the other pieces' roles, as well as your collective objective: protect your king and eliminate the opposition. But as the game commences and unfolds, you move across the board, sometimes forwards, sometimes backwards, always focused on the immediate task ahead. You are never truly able to grasp the overall state of the game or your part in the wider conflict, wondering: "Are we winning? Are we close to defeat? Am I vulnerable? Is our King safe?". To you, the wider game is a mystery, and you believe, or at least hope, that a higher, omnipresent power is at work, someone who understands the rules and has an overarching strategic vision for you, as a piece, and for the game as a whole.
I imagine most people reading this have never considered a game of chess from a piece's perspective (and why would they?). Yet, this viewpoint is analogous to how we, as humans, live our lives, how most employees experience the businesses they work for, and how individuals within societies seem to function, one reactionary step at a time. We are all, in a sense, unable to see the wood for the trees, or in this case, the game for the pieces, and desperately hope that whoever is in charge can.
But why is this?
I suppose most of us are simply too engrossed in the daily minutiae of life to actually lift our heads above the parapets and ponder the fundamental question: 'Where are we going?' Beyond that, 'strategic' is likely the last adjective most people would seriously apply to themselves when describing their actions.
Speaking personally, I certainly would not call myself strategic; I am ‘impulsive', 'temperamental', and 'passionate', but definitely not 'strategic'. Which makes it all the more intriguing that I invariably find myself guiding countless businesses on ‘strategic’ journeys... and I have often wondered: what draws them to me?
After much consideration, I have come to the conclusion that it is my peculiar style of strategic thinking that sets me apart. I care little for numbers and the quantifiable, and the black and white of the world is of minor concern to me, almost to a point of irreverence. To me, the vagueness and mysteries of life are the things worth troubling the mind with, and it is this mental “quirk” or corporate insubordination that has resulted in a coping mechanism that, in an attempt to understand, always looks for a thread of narrative in every complexity I encounter. Simply put, the affective “power” in the way I approach ‘strategy’ is simply my ability to craft a compelling narrative.
Now, I know that this may come across as flippant, and I do not want you to misunderstand me; facts and figures certainly have their place, providing the necessary scaffolding for justified thinking, but to me it is the story, not the numbers, that seems to truly unite my clients, galvanise action, and foster the meaningful change they’re looking for.
In my experience, all too often, the concept of 'strategy' has become needlessly convoluted, overly lengthy, and shrouded in jargon. But in my opinion, genuine “strategy” is not about being the cleverest person in the room; it is about being the most persuasive. How many times have we encountered those weighty strategic documents, hundreds of pages long, meticulously detailing what everyone already instinctively knew? They become an exercise in scale over substance, performative “strategic theatrics” rather than anything engaging, insightful or compelling.
Personally, I think strategy needs to shed its fake “intellectual” mystique and become unequivocally clear, so simple that its essence can be captured in a single, memorable story. The most effective strategies are those that are easily understood, inherently believable, realistically achievable, and, crucially, embraced by all involved. My ongoing endeavour is to continue to demystify strategy and to present it in a form that regular humans can readily grasp, absorb, and, most importantly, allow them to see the ‘game for the pieces’. The key is to keep it concise and make it inspiring.
By making ‘strategy’ more accessible through this narrative approach, we can lift clients and employees from the limited perspective of that lone knight, focused only on their next move, to a vantage point where they can appreciate the entire board. Empowering them to see not just their immediate role, but their vital contribution to a larger, more meaningful story. To move from hoping there is a grandmaster in control to understanding the strategic landscape themselves, aligning with a common message, and in so doing, becoming more effective players in their own lives, businesses, and the wider world.
So… what’s your story?