With a belly full of too many Thanksgiving-related calories, and a family sleeping later than they ever have, I began to organize some notes I had made to myself this morning for their eventual inclusion into my policy scrapbook. Among these notes I found my own personal definition of strategy. Reviewing this definition I made some updates and, satisfied with its imperfect form, share it with you below.
Phil’s Imperfect Definition of Strategy:
A. When viewed from within an organization, a strategy is a document that, when implemented, thoughtfully motivates and manages behavior change or stasis over time, includes a description of how the problem driving the strategy was assessed, and a description of how success of the strategy will be measured.
B. When viewing a competitor or enemy, a strategy may be seen as a series of actions that are credibly assessed to: be congruent; support each other; and move the competitor or enemy closer to a goal or set conditions favorable to them.
For those that are interested, U.S. Government definitions of strategy can be found in the Government Performance Results Act, 50 U.S. Code § 3043 – Annual national security strategy report, and paragraph (g)(1)(A) of 10 U.S. Code § 113 – Secretary of Defense.
