What Good Strategy Quietly Gets Right

Editor’s note: This essay forms part of Cultivated’s strategy canon — a body of work exploring how organisations turn intention into meaningful action.

What Good Strategy Quietly Gets Right

I spend a large part of my working life helping organisations think about strategy.

I enjoy it. It suits my temperament. Strategy sits at the intersection of clarity, judgement, and direction — the place where ideas either become value, or quietly evaporate.

Over the years, I’ve noticed something interesting.

When strategies fail, it is rarely because people lacked intelligence or ambition. It is usually because a few quiet disciplines were missing.

Good strategy is not loud. It does not shout slogans.

It works in the background — through realism, focus, and attention.

Here are five things effective strategies tend to get right.

1. They are grounded, not merely hopeful

Many strategies sound inspiring but say very little.

“Our product will be the best in the market.”
“We will become the industry leader.”

These are not strategies. They are aspirations.

Good strategy begins with evidence. It asks:

Why is this possible?
What must change for it to happen?
What is currently in the way?

Painting a future is only the first step. Strategy is the discipline of removing the obstacles between today and tomorrow.

2. They reflect reality, not ego

Sometimes strategies mirror the personality of senior leaders more than the organisation itself.

Bold language can energise — but bravado is not a plan.

Effective strategy stays anchored in what can actually be influenced. It is not about dominance or drama. It is about purposeful movement in the real world.

Calm strategy outperforms theatrical strategy.

3. They live beyond the slide deck

A strategy that exists only in presentations is not yet a strategy.

For direction to matter, it must be translated — repeatedly — into the daily decisions of teams.

People need to see how their work connects to the wider picture.

Good strategy travels through conversation, not just communication.

4. They begin with an honest view of the present

A compelling future means little if the present is poorly understood.

A useful question sits beneath every good strategy:

“If this future is so attractive, why are we not already there?”

Effective strategy studies current reality with care — the systems, constraints, and habits that shape the organisations ability to go from idea to value.

Without this, ambition floats above the organisation rather than guiding it.

5. They focus attention where it truly matters

Organisations have more problems than they can solve.

Good strategy is therefore an act of choice.

It concentrates energy on the few obstacles that most constrain progress. It resists distraction from fashionable initiatives and shiny projects.

Strategy is less about activity and more about direction.

A different take on strategy

In practice, effective strategy is simple — though never easy.

It:

Clarifies a meaningful future.
Faces present reality honestly.
Identifies the true obstacles.
Directs attention to what matters most.
Connects daily work to long-term purpose.

When this happens, strategy stops being an abstract exercise.

It becomes a form of collective sensemaking — helping organisations decide not just what to do, but what to leave alone.

That is when strategy begins to work quietly, but powerfully, in the background of everyday action.