the path to strategic impact Archive

A special gift for you

Today is birthday time! The PATH to Strategic Impact was published one year ago. And I want to properly celebrate it with you.

It’s been an incredible journey.

The book got raving reviews and I’ve been invited to many keynotes, conferences, and fireside chats across industries, all wrestling with the same struggles: how to cut through the noise, make strategy tangible, and find words that actually move people.

People reached out with thank you notes, feedback, or simply to have a chat.

I especially loved how people found new uses for the PATH principles I hadn’t thought of myself.

But the most surprising feedback was how well the idea of the Core Credo resonated. Apparently, people are really fed up with traditional mission statements and this more pragmatic approach really struck a chord with many.

Which is why I’ve created something special for you.

To celebrate the anniversary, here’s a gift from me.
→ Finding Your Core Credo
(simply click to download the PDF, no email required)

A free guide packed with tons of fascinating examples, tools, and prompts (including AI prompts) to help you craft one that sticks. Ahmed, who already read a pre-release, wrote: “I found the new guide extremely helpful.”

Here’s to the next year of clarity and to many more conversations … on stage, in meeting rooms, and yes, in those hallways where real change begins.

Thanks!

And keep lighting the path,
Michael

How 3 words made a complex strategy work

Today, I want to share with you one of my favorite case studies that didn’t make it into the book.

It’s about 3 words that aligned thousands of people more effectively than any 73-slide presentation ever could. And surprisingly, it comes from a domain usually famous for vague and fuzzy statements: politics.

But this one apparently nailed it. It starts with a simple but powerful realization: Would your people rather see you announce the next big thing, or finally fix what’s been broken for years?

Well, the answer’s pretty obvious.
(And no, it’s not the shiny new thing. I feel you.)

But how does that turn into a brilliant strategy?
Well, most of the time it doesn’t.
It can fail in many ways.
And it usually does.

But it didn’t in Massachusetts.

I’d argue because they found a brilliant way to communicate the idea.

What happened?
And why did it work?

I’ve created a PDF that has the full story.

Have you seen other examples where a good idea was communicated brilliantly? Or poorly? Would love to hear about it … simply hit reply to this mail!

Keep lighting the path,
Michael

PS: The PATH to Strategic Impact turns one year old this week. If you’re enjoying these case studies, the book has many more and dives deep on why they work (and how to make them work for you).

10 warning signs for failed strategy

It’s rarely the competition that beats a strategy.
More often, it’s the lack of impact inside the company.

On paper, strategies often sound brilliant.
But paper doesn’t make choices.
People do.

And when the strategy is unclear,
they can’t make the choices.

If there’s one thing that has become painfully obvious in my 18 years of consulting, it’s this one: Too often, clear communication is only an afterthought.

But just because it was clear to leadership when you were finalizing it at the retreat doesn’t mean it’s clear to the people outside of that space.

And so, too many strategies are confusing.
Written in a secret consultant language.
(Because apparently, plain English wasn’t clear enough.)

Or they’re simply so detailed that no-one knows which of the 178 slides to look at when a decision actually has to be made.

That’s why I wrote The PATH to Strategic Impact which turns one year old next week.

It still feels like the work has only just begun.

Anything you’d add to the list?

Keep lighting the path,
Michael

How to say it so it matters

I’m excited to share something new with you today.

What makes a message matter?
I believe it comes down to three things:
→ It connects dots in ways that change how people see things.
→ It resonates because it feels true.
→ And it spreads because it’s worth repeating.

What would change if your message did that?
What if you could find words that make it truly matter?

I wrote a little workbook to guide you towards these words.

It’s filled with powerful prompts from 17+ years of working with my clients – questions that have helped them shift perspectives and resonate strongly.

It’s a workbook in the literal sense of the word. The info itself is a quick read, but it will be infinitely more useful when you actually do the work. Fill out the blanks. Answer the prompts.

The outcome will be very rewarding. Check it out!

Keep lighting the path!

PS: This is the first in a series of supplementary material for “The PATH to Strategic Impact”! But it’s just as useful as a standalone workbook on one of the most overlooked principles in communication, no matter what you want to communicate.

3 out of 10

Since launching “The PATH to Strategic Impact,” I’ve been collecting results from the (anonymous) online self-assessment included in the book.

One of the questions is this:

“Can team members (at all levels) articulate the strategy in their own words without losing its essence?”

Less than 3 out of 10 participants answered “yes” to that question (28.6% to be precise).

Think about that. In the vast majority of companies, the team doesn’t know what the strategy really is.

It gets worse. Another question asks:

“Are team members able to independently translate the strategy into actions without having to consult leadership?”

21.4% answered “yes” to that one.

In 4 out of 5 companies, the team doesn’t understand what the strategy means for the everyday choices they need to make.

I bet that’s hardly a surprise for you.

But then again, if the gap is so obvious, why does it persist?

It’s certainly not because leaders don’t care.
Or because teams are incapable.

It’s because communicating a strategy to make it actionable actually takes more effort than most of us realize.

As leaders, we know the strategy inside out. It’s obvious to us. It’s tempting to assume that communicating it will be just as straightforward.

But it’s not. To the team, it isn’t obvious.
The language of the boardroom just doesn’t cut it.

We need to speak their language, make it actionable, and find heartfelt words that transcend the dry & corporate language of most strategy documents.

Here’s the good news: this is solvable.

It’s why I wrote “The PATH to Strategic Impact” … to give you the tools to bridge the gap and turn your team into a strategic force.

If you want 2025 to be the year your strategy finally makes an impact, the holidays might be the perfect time to give it a read. (It’s a short read and very actionable with plenty of case studies and extensive online resources to get you started.)

You’ve already done the hard part—building the strategy. Now it’s time to make it work.

PS: Want to quickly assess how your communication stacks up? Here’s the 2-minute self-assessment.

What’s Your Path Next Year?

Few things matter more in leadership than lighting the path.

It’s what separates teams trapped in endless debates and confusion from those that make bold leaps.

→ Where are we headed?
→ Why there?
→ How do we want to make choices along the way?

Perhaps, like many other leaders you’ll use the time between the years to reflect and gain clarity on your path forward.

Why not use my new book “The PATH to Strategic Impact” as your guide?

Leaders who’ve read it have called it
→ “nothing short of transformative”
→ “a must-read for any leader who wants to turn their strategic vision into daily reality”
→ “I wish I’d had this book years ago”

In fact, I know of teams planning to get a copy for the whole leadership team to align their efforts in the new year.

Did I mention that it’s plain and simple, actionable, transformative, and heartfelt?

Get your copy here!

PS: It’s also a thoughtful gift for your team or your customers.

Cleaning up the mess

Let’s say it straight: The world of strategy can be messy.
But your communication should not reflect that mess.

I mean, organizations of more than a handful of people are inherently complex.

With many balls to juggle, difficult decisions to make, and diverging interests to balance.

On top of that, the world is changing fast, which turns business success into a moving target.

Decisions need to be made swiftly despite incomplete information, competing interests, and uncertain outcomes, considering an arsenal of factors in ever-changing conditions.

Here are four ways to clean up the mess:

Plain and Simple Communication
Strip away the jargon and complexity. Make the message easy to grasp and impossible to misunderstand. If it’s not simple, it won’t spread.

Actionable Focus
A strategy is meaningless without making clear which actions follow from it. Focus on what people can do to move forward, not just the bold vision they should aspire to.

Transformative Resonance
Encourage bold moves. You’re not going to make a difference with baby steps. Your words need to inspire the leaps.

Heartfelt Connection
When your strategy aligns business goals with the personal their goals of the team, it unlocks their full potential.

Or, in short: light the PATH!

How 2 Transformative Words Skyrocketed a Business

Who doesn’t love bold success stories?

The leader who inspired a movement.
The team that turned a company around.
The strategy that changed everything.

It seldom works.

But Alcoa’s story is truly remarkable.

It’s the story of how two words turned a struggling company completely around – leading to staggering results.

And it’s absolutely the stuff Hollywood movies are made of: They were laughed at, only to prove everyone wrong.

It’s a bit longer than usual so I put it into a short PDF. Download Alcoa’s story here as a free download. It’s totally worth your time.

PS: This is the final of a series of four case studies, one for each of the four PATH principles. Download all of them here.

The Problem with Business Books Today

Most business books are way too long.

The problem isn’t the number of pages.
It’s the amount of repetition.

The first chapter grabs you, maybe the second adds something new… but soon after, you’re thinking, ‘Thanks, but I’m reading this now for the fifth time!’

Take a look at your book shelf. How many of the books did you finish?

But why does this happen? Why, of all genres, are books that are made for business people (who are short on time and value brevity) often so repetitive?

Simple answer? Publishers.

They insist a book has to be thick enough to look important. They’ll tell you ‘a short book doesn’t look serious,’ or ‘it won’t justify the price tag.’ In fact, most publishers won’t even read book proposals for books below 35k words.

But longer isn’t better. Longer is exhausting.

When you force an idea to stretch beyond its natural length, it loses impact. Instead of sharpening the message, you blunt it.

The value of a book isn’t in how many pages it has. It’s in how much it leaves behind – in your mind, in your work, in your life.

That’s why my new book is short. It’s concise and clear. No fluff. No filler.

Because you’re not paying for the weight of the paper. You’re paying for the impact of the idea.

The international path

Wow, The PATH to Strategic Impact is a truly international phenomenon.

It’s finding its way to leaders across the globe.
And the reception has been incredible:
→ “nothing short of transformative”
→ “a must-read for any leader who wants to turn their strategic vision into daily reality”
→ “stands out for its simplicity and focus on actionable insights”
→ “I wish I’d had this book years ago”

I know for a fact that it’s already been embraced in at least 17 countries, and there may be more I haven’t heard back from.

When I decided to go international four years ago, I faced plenty of pushback from people who felt I should focus on the German market. Even today, I’m sometimes asked why I didn’t write the book in German. But seeing this kind of global feedback confirms that going international was the right choice. Thank you to everyone who’s joined me on this journey!

Here’s the list of countries so far (in alphabetical order):
→ Argentina
→ Brazil
→ Canada
→ France
→ Germany
→ India
→ Ireland
→ Japan
→ Jersey
→ Luxembourg
→ Mexico
→ The Netherlands
→ Poland
→ Spain
→ United Kingdom
→ United States
→ Uruguay

Have you read it? Looks like it’s totally worth it! Just click here to get your copy.

PS: Thanks to everyone who sent me a photo. It’s one of the easiest ways to put a smile on my face! Please keep them coming!

Posts in Tag: the path to strategic impact