Why Most CEOs Think They Have a Strategy (But Don’t)

Strategy. It has to be one of the most overused and least understood words in business.

Every company claims to have one. Most don’t.

What they have instead:

• A wishlist
• A PowerPoint deck
• A scattered to-do list masquerading as a strategy

But what is strategy, really?

Michael Porter, one of the foremost thinkers on competitive advantage, put it simply:

“The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

Richard Rumelt, author of Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, defines it as:

“A strategy is a coherent set of analyses, concepts, policies, arguments, and actions that respond to a high-stakes challenge.”

Henry Mintzberg, author of The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning, offers a broader take:

“Strategy is a pattern in a stream of decisions.”

In simple terms? Strategy is about focus. It’s about making deliberate trade-offs, eliminating distractions, and committing to a clear path forward.

Yet most businesses fail here. They confuse ambition with strategy. They try to do everything—and in the process, accomplish nothing.

Let’s cut through the noise and break down what strategy actually is—and just as importantly, what it isn’t.

What Strategy IS...

1. Strategy Is About Trade-Offs, Not a Long To-Do List

Most leadership teams think they’re being strategic when they produce a laundry list of priorities:

• “We’ll expand into three new markets.”
• “We’ll improve operational efficiency.”
• “We’ll launch a new product line.”

That’s not strategy. That’s wishful thinking.

Real strategy forces difficult decisions:

• Are you focused on cost leadership or premium differentiation? You can’t be both.
• Are you prioritizing market share or profitability? One often comes at the expense of the other.
• Are you dominating a niche, or spreading yourself so thin that you become just another undifferentiated competitor?

If you aren’t making clear trade-offs, you don’t have a strategy—you have a hope.

Apple chose simplicity over customization. Southwest Airlines chose low cost over luxury. Tesla chose vertical integration over supplier reliance.

The best companies make painfully clear what they will and won’t do. The mediocre ones hedge their bets, trying to be everything to everyone—and end up being nothing to anyone.

2. Strategy Is an Operating System, Not a PowerPoint Deck

Executives love a polished strategy document.

• It’s packed with frameworks.
• It’s full of market analysis.
• It sounds sophisticated in the boardroom.

Then it gets saved in a shared drive and never looked at again.

That’s not strategy. That’s "corporate theater" (a topic I have also written quite extensively about).

Your real strategy is what actually happens every day:

• Where is the company actually investing its resources?
• What do people prioritize when they’re short on time?
• How do leaders make decisions when the pressure is on?

If your strategy doesn’t dictate daily decisions and behavior, it’s just an intellectual exercise.

3. Strategy Is an Antidote to Complexity, Not an Excuse for It

Most executives make strategy more complicated than it needs to be.

They throw around phrases like:

• “Synergistic market penetration.”
• “Leveraging scalable ecosystems.”
• “Driving omnichannel consumer engagement.”

It’s all smoke and mirrors—a way to avoid making the tough, clear choices that real strategy demands.

The best strategies are brutally simple:

• Apple: “We make beautifully designed, easy-to-use technology.”
• Southwest Airlines: “We are the low-cost airline.”
• Amazon: “We obsess over customers and use scale to drive efficiency.”

If your strategy can’t fit on a napkin, it’s too complex to execute.

4. Strategy Is About Playing a Different Game, Not Just Playing Better

Most companies think strategy is about execution—just doing what they already do, but faster or more efficiently.

That’s not strategy. That’s operational improvement.

The best strategies don’t try to win at the same game everyone else is playing. They change the game entirely.

• Netflix didn’t try to beat Blockbuster at renting DVDs—they eliminated the need for DVDs.
• Tesla didn’t just make electric cars—they built a vertically integrated ecosystem around them.
• IKEA didn’t make better furniture—they reinvented how people buy, transport, and assemble it.

A great strategy doesn’t just help you compete—it makes the competition irrelevant.

What Strategy ISN’T...

1. Strategy Is Not a Set of Goals

A CEO once told me their strategy was to “grow 20% year over year.”

I asked: “Great—but how?”

Silence.

Growth is not a strategy—it’s an outcome. Saying “we want to grow” is like a football coach saying, “Our strategy is to score more points than the other team.”

That’s not strategy—that’s the scoreboard.

A real strategy answers:

• How will we achieve growth?
• What trade-offs will we make to get there?
• What will we say no to?

If your “strategy” is just a goal without a clear set of choices, it’s not a strategy at all.

2. Strategy Is Not a Slogan or Vision Statement

Every company loves to declare:

• “We strive for excellence.”
• “We are customer-obsessed.”
• “We will be the leader in our industry.”

That’s not strategy. That’s wallpaper.

A vision statement tells you where you want to go. Strategy tells you how you’ll get there.

One without the other is just wishful thinking.

3. Strategy Is Not Static

The strategy that made you successful five years ago might be the thing that kills you today.

• Kodak had a strategy—until digital photography made it irrelevant.
• Blockbuster had a strategy—until streaming changed the industry.
• Sears had a strategy—until e-commerce flipped retail upside down.

If your strategy isn’t constantly evolving, you’re not leading—you’re waiting to become obsolete.

4. Strategy Is Not Copy-Paste Best Practices

Too many companies try to copy what the “best in class” are doing.

The problem? What works for Amazon, Danaher, or Apple probably won’t work for you.

Instead of copying, ask:

• What unique strengths do we have?
• Where can we create an unfair advantage?
• What do we understand about our customers that others don’t?

Real strategy is about differentiation, not imitation.

Strategy Requires Courage

The number one reason most companies fail at strategy?

They’re afraid to commit.

Real strategy forces you to make hard choices. It requires saying no—to entire markets, products, and customer segments that don’t fit.

That makes people uncomfortable. It makes leadership teams nervous.

And that’s why most companies hedge their bets. They try to do everything, be everything, serve everyone.

But the companies that try to be everything to everyone end up being nothing to anyone.

Strategy isn’t about playing it safe. It’s about making bold choices—and having the discipline to stick to them.

The question is: Does your company actually have a strategy, or just a list of good intentions?

“However beautiful the strategy, you should occasionally look at the results.” – Winston Churchill

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