Strategy Insights

Strategy work, explained from practice

Guides, methods and templates for strategy work in mid-sized companies. From the first analysis step through the strategy workshop to execution in day-to-day business.

Every article answers a question that comes up in real strategy processes. Written for leadership teams that develop their strategy themselves.

The StrategyFrame® method

Loose tiles are scattered around an open frame; a single tile sits inside it, highlighted.

What strategy is: the answer to limited resources and competition

Everyone knows the word, yet hardly two people in the same room mean the same thing by it. Here's a definition that holds up in daily practice, and the test most strategies fail.

Read moreChristian Underwood
09/14/2026

An elevated road breaks off in the middle and continues after a gap; the broken edge is highlighted.

Why strategies fail: the four myths and what's really behind them

Most strategies don't fail at execution. They fail earlier, because of three prerequisites nobody put in place and thinking errors nobody on the leadership team says out loud.

Read moreChristian Underwood
09/14/2026

A single sheet has been lifted out of a thick stack of paper; it sits highlighted inside an open frame.

Strategy on one page: what a strategy paper that actually gets read looks like

What belongs on the single page, what deliberately doesn't, and how it gets used day to day. The format that reveals whether a strategy has actually been decided.

Strategy work, explained from practice

The StrategyFrame® method

What strategy is: the answer to limited resources and competition

Why strategies fail: the four myths and what's really behind them

Strategy on one page: what a strategy paper that actually gets read looks like

The strategy process: eight steps from the first question to ongoing refinement

Setting up a strategy process: what needs to be settled before the first meeting

What types of strategy are there? Defining scope and focus

Who belongs in the strategy process: sponsor, coordination, and co-creation

Situation analysis: where your company really stands today

The five force fields: the tension your company operates in

Running strategy interviews: guiding questions, process, and analysis

Understand customer needs instead of guessing them

Running a market analysis: which data can carry a decision

Competitive analysis: five steps to findings you can actually base a decision on

Trend analysis and environment: building a crisis-proof company

Portfolio analysis: which products carry the business and which just keep you busy

Focus: from findings to a target picture

Planning a strategy workshop: format, agenda, and methods for two days

Formulating insights: turning data into shared understanding

Naming strategic challenges: the call to action

The fourteen strategic options at a glance

Vision, mission and guiding statement: what has impact and what stays wall decor

Winning proposition: customer value that also pays off

Target markets, customer segments, and offering: choosing the right playing field

OKRs in strategy execution: when the method works and when it doesn't

Adapt: aligning the organization with the strategy

The six action areas: where strategy touches the organization

Communicating strategy so it lands

Cascading: bringing goals into the units

Developing a functional strategy: how departments derive their own

The dual operating system: accelerating change alongside the line organization

Strategy community and accelerators: how change picks up speed

Experimenting: the growth engine for the day after tomorrow

The strategic innovation routine: From problem to business model

Review Your Strategy: when it still holds and when it's out of date

Strategic metrics: How to spot progress before revenue shows it

Fundamentals and process

Strategy execution: why strategies fade into daily business and what helps

Strategy development in mid-sized companies: what works differently than in a corporation

Strategy consulting for mid-sized companies: cost, value and the alternatives

Strategy software compared: which features mid-sized companies actually need

SWOT analysis: How four fields turn into a decision

Growth strategy

Pricing strategy: raising prices without losing customers

Developing a growth strategy: the four paths and how to pick the right one

Succession and transformation

Strategy development in family businesses: aligning owners, family, and company

Transformation in mid-sized companies: when you need a rebuild and when fine-tuning is enough

Planning your business succession: a roadmap for the handover

Market and competitive strategy

B2B positioning: what you can stand for without claiming it

Digitalisation and technology

Digitalization strategy: the roadmap that comes before the first tool

AI strategy in mid-sized companies: why the tool question is the wrong first question

Corporate and business unit strategy

Developing a corporate strategy: seven steps with examples from mid-sized companies

Go-to-market strategy

Building a sales strategy: channels, roles, and performance management

Go-to-market strategy in B2B: From offering to first customer

Product and portfolio strategy

Make or buy: build it yourself, buy it in, or partner

Internationalisation

Entering the US market: what German mid-sized companies underestimate

Internationalization strategy: planning market entry without spreading yourself thin