In a world that moves like a river, why build your strategy out of stone?
Leaders love certainty. Investors crave confidence. And powerpoint loves a five-year plan with bulletproof logic.
But the best strategies? They’re sketched in pencil. Etched in mud. Solid enough to hold shape. Soft enough to reshape.
So, yes, strategy is an iterative process, besides an intellectual one.
Because things will change. Markets flip. Competitors copy. Customers surprise you.
The rigid break. The flexible adjust.
Etching in mud doesn’t mean you’re unsure. It means you’re aware.
Aware that the map isn’t the territory. That feedback is data. That agility beats arrogance.
The most dangerous words in strategy are: “But this was the plan.”
So plan, yes. Think hard, aim high, commit.
But hold it lightly. Be ready to remix, refine, even restart.
Etch in mud, so you can move when it matters.
