Isn’t this obvious?
This might disappoint some of you: The strongest strategy in 2026 will sound boring in the boardroom and obvious in the field.
Yup. You’ve read that right. Boring and obvious. Not grand or clever.
Why? Because the only measure of a strategy is whether it shapes the choices that actually have to be made in the field. Not how clever it sounds and how impressive the slide deck looks. Simply whether it leads to action.
Now, guess when people are most likely to act? Exactly! When the action is obvious.
When people in the field say “yes, of course” after hearing your strategy, you’ve nailed it. If you’ve ever seen it in action, you know that an “of course effect” is so much stronger than any “wow effect”.
The only problem is that “of course” sounds boring. Which is why people avoid it.
Which, in turn, is why it might be your biggest advantage to embrace it.
Leaders who light the path don’t try to impress. They choose words that make the path impossible to miss.
Even if that sounds boring and obvious.
What’s your take? Does a strategy need to sound “exciting”?
Keep lighting the path,
Michael