the path Archive - The Art of Communicating

A moment for reflection

You’re invited! The 2nd edition of “The Leaders Light the Path Session” is happening on Feb 11th.

It’s a free, hands-on gathering for leaders who want to communicate with clarity and impact.

Participants of the first session have called it a relaxed format and a great moment for reflection.

Don’t expect a lengthy presentation and over-complicated frameworks. We’re more interested in conversations and real, actionable ways to help you find better words.

This time, we’re applying lessons from my latest book “The PATH to Strategic Impact”:

→ Simple strategies to turn ambition into progress
→ How to encourage people to challenge the norm
→ Why heartfelt words are underestimated in business

Feb 11th | 11am Eastern · 5pm CET | Zoom

Whether you’re building something new, scaling a big idea, or simply looking to maximize the impact of your communication, this session will help you do it with focus and clarity.

It’s highly interactive, in a small group setting with like-minded peers.

Would love to see you there.

Seats are limited, though! Reserve your spot by simply replying to this email (I prefer the process as plain and simple as possible).

Keep lighting the path!

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.

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.

A costly myth

There’s a costly myth out there: That the best strategies are intellectually dense and complex.

But here’s the truth about strategy:
→ It’s not a measure of intelligence.
→ It’s a measure of action.

You don’t judge a strategy on how brilliant it looks on paper. You judge it on how well it guides people’s actions.

Which is why communication plays such a crucial role.
But one that’s often treated as an afterthought.
(If at all.)

As Alex M H Smith writes in the foreword to my book:

‘A well-communicated bad strategy is a hell of a lot better than a poorly communicated good one.’

He’s absolutely right.

Forgive me for being direct here, but great strategies don’t make an impact through what they were supposed to do when they were presented in glossy PowerPoints. They live through the actions people actually take.

The problem is often not the strategy itself.
They are indeed brilliant, smart, intelligently created.

It’s that they’re not communicated clearly enough.

Which means that all the hard work that went into creating the strategy is wasted.

Because – let’s face it – a strategy that isn’t understood, embraced, and acted upon, might just as well not exist.

The best strategies are the ones that light the PATH for everyone involved to take action.

PS: In my new book “The PATH to Strategic Impact”, you’ll learn how some of the world’s most successful businesses communicated their strategies for maximum impact – and how you can do the same.

How to find the one line that makes your strategy unforgettable

The most impactful teams are often aligned around a single, powerful idea – what I like to call a Core Credo.

Here’s how you can find yours.

Step 1: One Thing, Not Everything – What’s the Non-Negotiable?

Most leaders try to capture everything in their strategy – every detail, every priority – but that’s how you end up with abstract language that no one remembers or follows.

Your Core Credo’s job isn’t to capture everything. It’s the anchor for your idea in your mind. It expresses the spirit of the strategy, the true core. What’s that one thing that, if you get it right, will make the biggest difference?”

Example: For a company who thinks they can win by being the most efficient operator in their industry, the essence might be to ‘move fast.’ Not ‘be innovative,’ not ‘explore every option’—just ‘move fast.’

Ask yourself, ‘If I could only communicate one thing to everyone on the team, what would it be?’ That’s your starting point.

Step 2: If They Can’t See It, It’s Not There

A Core Credo isn’t meant to be clever or cryptic. It’s got to be so clear that anyone, anywhere on the team, gets it immediately.

Example: When Southwest created their Core Credo, they didn’t choose a fancy statement about efficiency. They weren’t satisfied by a fuzzy statement like “move fast”. They chose two clear and powerful words: ‘Wheels Up!’

These two words capture the strategy in a way everyone can visualize. When the wheels of a plane go up, it’s visual proof that the job is done. It’s a line that’s impossible to miss.

Try saying your Core Credo out loud. If it takes you longer than a few seconds, or you feel the need to explain it, it’s too complicated. Simplify it until it clicks. Think of it like the refrain of a song everyone loves – a few words that are simple, strong, and easy to pass along.

Step 3: Does It Make Decisions Easier—Or Just Sound Good?

A Core Credo’s job is to guide choices, not to sound good. Think of it like this: When a team member faces a tough call, your Core Credo should give them an intuition for what’s right.

Example: Southwest’s Core Credo, ‘Wheels Up,’ wasn’t just catchy. It made decisions easier at every level, from how fast crews worked at the gate to how leaders planned routes. Every choice aligned with getting those wheels up in the air.

To test yours, imagine situations your team faces every day. Would your Core Credo make the choice clear? If it doesn’t, refine it until it does.

—

Crafting a Core Credo isn’t easy, but get it right, and you’ll have something more powerful than any strategy document. You’ll have a guiding light, clear and memorable like a refrain that  everyone knows by heart and that  becomes part of your company’s DNA.

There’s more on the Core Credo in my book ‘The PATH to Strategic Impact’.

Why some teams make a bigger impact

This might be the single biggest reason why some teams make a bigger impact than others:

They align on the one thing that truly matters.

They have a Core Credo that works much like the refrain of a beloved song,
→ often shared,
→ everyone likes to sing it, and
→ captures the essence of the strategy in just a few words.

Not a replacement of the strategy, but its anchor.

Present in everyday situations.

Acting like a trigger that, when faced with a choice, helps individuals recall and align with the organizational principles.

And, most importantly, reminding everyone of the path they’re on.

I’d even go so far as to say …
→ If the essence of a strategy can’t be captured in a Core Credo, it’s quite likely not a strategy, but a mess.

PS: In the book “The PATH to Strategic Impact“ I explain how to find one.

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!

How 11 heartfelt words revolutionized an industry

In 2006, Jos de Blok turned the Dutch healthcare market on its head. With a heartfelt conviction:

We can trust nurses to know what’s best for their patients.

A thought that’s so obvious, but apparently also very frightening to most healthcare leaders. At de Blok’s Buurtzorg community care organization, nurses work together in teams of 12. Without a manager.

Instead of having their work dictated to them, the nurses have enormous freedom in making decisions, big and small.

It’s a revolutionary approach to healthcare, built on a simple idea about how choices should be made in healthcare. But before we get deeper into that, let’s contrast Buurtzorg with what other organizations do.

They build strategy around a very different idea: Control.

No matter
→ how skilled the team is,
→ how motivated they are,
→ or how much they care …
… without strict oversight, management believes the job won’t get done right.

So, their strategies are to
→ “optimize caregiver workflows.”
→ “standardize care plans.”
→ “provide effective healthcare at a reasonable price”

Which sounds professional. But it’s also hugely demotivating for the people doing the actual work.

Caregivers are trained professionals. Yet their decisions are always filtered through layers of management and channeled through strict procedures. As if those working directly with patients can’t be trusted.

There’s no space for freedom.
No room for passion.
No place for trust.

The thinking behind this is clear:
More control means better efficiency.

But does it?

And, perhaps more importantly, does it provide better care?

De Blok said “no, it doesn’t”. Therefore, he used a very – very – different strategy. And he stated the essence of it in just 11 words:

Always start from the patient’s perspective and prioritize their best interests.

De Blok believed that the individuals best positioned to do so, are those who directly interact with them. They can – and should – be trusted to make decisions in the best interest of the patients. Here’s the crucial difference:

Where others bet on directives from the top, de Blok trusted each team member with …
→ feeling,
→ understanding,
→ and most importantly: being passionate about

… the choices that need to be made.

Other businesses essentially (try to) force the team to make the right choices. To them, more rules means more control over the choices.

Micromanaging is the result.

Buurtzorg, however, trusts that the team will make the right choices if they believe in the choices.

Fewer but more heartfelt rules are the result.

It has led Buurtzorg to achieve staggering results. The company boasts the highest satisfaction rates among any healthcare organization in the Netherlands.

And it’s also more efficient: A KPMG study has found that if all home care in the Netherlands was provided using Buurtzorg’s model, it could save the Dutch healthcare system around 40 percent.

But make no mistake! That was only possible because de Blok precisely captured what drives the team: caring for patients! Their nurses don’t show up to follow a corporate mandate. They engage in a mission they deeply believe in.

Caring for patients is why they applied for the job in the first place. With every choice, they’re reminded of the difference they make in their patients’ lives. A continual source of motivation.

Pay attention to what a difference the wording makes. Buurtzorg’s strategy wasn’t to “provide effective healthcare at a reasonable price,” it was to “always start from the patient’s perspective and prioritize their best interests.”

The former is what businesses might care for; the latter is what nurses care for.

It speaks to their heart.

At the same time, it’s
→ plain and simple,
→ actionable,
→ and transformative.

Imagine if your team had that same passion and the impact that enabled. Every team member, in every situation, would be trusted to make choices that make a difference …

Want to learn how the right words can make your strategy heartfelt? Check out my new book, “The PATH to Strategic Impact.”

The simple foundation

Let’s not make things more complicated than they need to be.

The PATH to Strategic Impact is made of
Plain and simple language that’s easy to understand,
Actionable messages that are obvious to implement,
Transformative goals that encourage bold moves, and
Heartfelt words that capture what the team and you deeply care for.

Find those words and your chances of making an impact will greatly improve.

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