Strategy put to the test: these 5 questions really count!
Strategy put to the test: the five questions that really count
Many companies have a strategy, but only a few know what really matters. In the new episode of "Hope is not a strategy", Christian Underwood provides a compact but highly effective impulse for all those who want to sharpen their strategic position - beyond colorful presentations and abstract buzzwords.
Strategy means rethinking, making clear decisions
If you want to lead strategically, you have to leave your comfort zone. Because real strategy work confronts you with blind spots, cherished routines and the harsh reality of the market. Christian Underwood takes us into the heart of his strategy work: the so-called target picture. He asks five questions that provide clarity in each of his processes because they bring companies back to what really matters: Customer benefit, differentiation and economic viability. These questions are a test bench for the substance of a business model and show whether a company is ready to take the next step or whether it will continue to get lost in the minutiae.
Why many companies confuse relevance with activity
This can often be observed: People work, optimize and invest - but without direction. Teams do their best, but the strategic compass is missing. Instead of growing with clarity, resources are scattered. A key question is therefore: would anyone miss the company if it ceased to exist tomorrow? What sounds provocative at first is actually a brutally honest question of relevance. Because only those who really make a difference (for customers, markets or industries) will survive in the long term. But relevance alone is not enough. Only when a company is better or different than the competition - and can also reflect this in a commercially viable way - does real strategic impact arise.
Focus instead of ballast
As a result, it becomes clear that many companies are dragging legacy burdens with them - products, customers, markets that bring neither joy nor contribution margins. They remain in the system because they have grown historically. But this is precisely where great potential lies untapped. Christian Underwood explains how to achieve greater focus through consistent questioning. Which 20% of the business model actually generates 80% of the impact and which of it may no longer belong in tomorrow's world? Strategy doesn't just mean doing the right things. It also means consciously not doing the wrong things.
For whom this episode is particularly relevant
This episode is particularly worthwhile for entrepreneurs who no longer want to rely on tried and tested routines, but want to realign their company with a clear view. For managers who feel that operational hustle and bustle and strategic clarity are not the same thing and who are prepared to ask uncomfortable questions before the market does.
🎧 Listen in now and reset the course with just 5 questions.
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