What is a great strategy?

Unfortunately, it's complicated

Dear strategist,

“What makes a great strategy” is a frequent question among executives.

I enjoyed reading my Substack colleague Strategy Shots’ view here, in short:

A simple plan led by choice and differentiation, resourced and executed effectively, driving superior customer value creation, increasing the probability of sustainable future success.

Here are other definitions of great strategy thinkers:

Strategy is the determination of long-term goals, adoption of courses of action, and allocation of resources.
— Alfred Chandler (emphasizing long-term orientation)

Strategy is the creation of a unique and valuable position involving a different set of activities.
—Michael Porter (emphasizing competitive advantage)

Strategy is a means of achieving competitive advantage through market understanding and differentiation.
— Bruce Henderson (emphasizing differentiation from the market)

Strategy is a rule for making decisions under uncertainty, including product-market scope and growth direction.
— Igor Ansoff (emphasizing decisions)

Strategy can be viewed as a pattern in a stream of decisions (emergent and deliberate)
— Henry Mintzberg (emphasizing the process)

Strategy is about building core competencies and shaping the future by leveraging capabilities
— Gary Hamel & C.K. Prahalad (emphasizing capabilities)

Strategy is a coherent set of actions designed to overcome a key challenge
— Richard Rumelt (emphasizing solution to a problem)

All of the above are correct and highlight different, important aspects.

In my experience, a simple strategy definition is rarely helpful, because in practice, a strategy can fail for multiple reasons. If you want to have a great strategy, you need to ensure you check all the relevant boxes, not just some of them.
Here’s a checklist to help avoid common pitfalls:

These are just some of the most frequent ones. (That’s why we use a comprehensive Strategy Diagnostic at BCG - it tests all important dimensions.)

Practical takeaway: Evaluate the strength of your strategy from multiple perspectives.

Let me know your thoughts!

Sebastian