Your one stop book summary, audiobook and book review spot for:
Good Strategy Bad Strategy Summary
About Good Strategy Bad Strategy Book
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy clarifies the muddled thinking underlying too many strategies and provides a clear way to create and implement a powerful action-oriented strategy for the real world.
Developing and implementing a strategy is the central task of a leader. A good strategy is a specific and coherent response to—and approach for—overcoming the obstacles to progress. A good strategy works by harnessing and applying power where it will have the greatest effect. Yet, Rumelt shows that there has been a growing and unfortunate tendency to equate Mom-and-apple-pie values, fluffy packages of buzzwords, motivational slogans, and financial goals with “strategy.”
In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, he debunks these elements of “bad strategy” and awakens an understanding of the power of a “good strategy.” He introduces nine sources of power—ranging from using leverage to effectively focusing on growth—that are eye-opening yet pragmatic tools that can easily be put to work on Monday morning, and uses fascinating examples from business, nonprofit, and military affairs to bring its original and pragmatic ideas to life. The detailed examples range from Apple to General Motors, from the two Iraq wars to Afghanistan, from a small local market to Wal-Mart, from Nvidia to Silicon Graphics, from the Getty Trust to the Los Angeles Unified School District, from Cisco Systems to Paccar, and from Global Crossing to the 2007–08 financial crisis.
Reflecting an astonishing grasp and integration of economics, finance, technology, history, and the brilliance and foibles of the human character, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy stems from Rumelt’s decades of digging beyond the superficial to address hard questions with honesty and integrity.
See More
4.9/5 (6231 reviews)
Audio and text
Download free PDF
Strategy is the craft of figuring out which purposes are both worth pursuing and capable of being accomplished
Good and Bad Strategy
- Strategy is the application of strength against weakness.
- Strategy creates new strengths through subtle shifts in viewpoint.
- Most organizations have multiple conflicting objectives that amount to little more than spending more and try harder.
- They spread resources to placate internal interests rather than concentrate resources to focus on pivot points.
- Creating a good strategy means saying no to a variety of interests.
662
Discovering Power
Success isn’t just about what your organization does, it’s also about blocked or failed competition
For example, in setting cold war strategy, it made little sense to match Soviet capabilities. The best method was to build on our strengths in ways that were aimed at their weaknesses.
Act so as to impose exorbitant costs on the competition using your relative advantages
614
The Four Hallmarks Of Bad Strategy
- Fluff: Unnecessarily long words
- Failure to face or define the challenge
- Mistaking goals for strategy. You can’t just state your desires, you need to plan to overcome obstacles.
- Bad strategic objectives. Good ones are means to an end, bad ones fail to address key issues or are impracticable.
667
Learn the secrets to crafting effective strategies and avoiding common pitfalls with *Good Strategy Bad Strategy*.
Good strategy works by focusing energy and resources on one, or a very few, pivotal objectives whose accomplishment will lead to a cascade of favorable outcomes.
RICHARD RUMELT
130
Topics That Will Make You A Better Strategist Today
1. The Kernel of Good Strategy
2. The Importance of Diagnosis
3. Defining a Clear Guiding Policy
4. Crafting Coherent Actions
5. Identifying Bad Strategy
6. The Power of Focus in Strategy
7. The Role of Leverage
8. Avoiding the Pitfalls of Fluff
9. Strategy as Problem Solving
10. The Importance of Adaptability
127
The Kernel of Good Strategy
Good strategy boils down to three essential components: a clear diagnosis of the situation, a guiding policy to address the challenges, and coherent actions to implement the policy. These form what Rumelt calls the “kernel” of good strategy.
“A good strategy begins with diagnosing the problem and designing a solution that moves the needle.”
128
Your Blueprint to Crushing Bad Strategy Revealed!
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan, executed next week.
GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON
52
Strategy is About Solving Real Problems
A strategy isn’t just about lofty goals—it’s about finding and fixing the key obstacles that keep you from success.
48
Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.
SUN TZU
46
Richard Rumelt pulls back the curtain on what separates vague wishful thinking from powerful, focused strategy—and how to craft plans that truly move the needle.
1. Strategy Isn’t Goals—It’s a Clear Response to a Real Challenge
Most organizations confuse goals, vision statements, and buzzwords with strategy.
- A good strategy diagnoses the problem, formulates a guiding policy, and outlines coherent action.
- A bad strategy is filled with fluff, ambition without direction, and wishful thinking.
- Strategy must focus and prioritize, not try to be everything to everyone.
💡 Strategy isn’t about slogans—it’s about solving problems with clarity and force.
22
2. The Kernel of Good Strategy: 3 Core Elements 🌰
✔️ Diagnosis – Clearly define the challenge.
✔️ Guiding Policy – Develop a high-level approach to address it.
✔️ Coherent Actions – Align efforts and resources to the guiding policy.
💡 Without these three elements, you're not strategizing—you’re daydreaming.
23
3. Avoid “Bad Strategy” Traps 🚫
Rumelt outlines common patterns of bad strategy:
✔️ Fluff – Buzzwords without substance.
✔️ Failure to face the problem – Avoiding harsh truths.
✔️ Mistaking goals for strategy – Setting targets without a game plan.
✔️ Lack of focus – Trying to pursue too many things at once
💡 Clarity is the enemy of bad strategy—don’t mask confusion with ambition.
20
An epic thought by the writer of 'Good Strategy, Bad Strategy'.
"Underperformance is not a challenge; the challenges are the reasons for the underperformance"
RICHARD P. RUMELT
13
Strategy vs Goal
Strategy is cumbersome to create
2
Supercharge your mind with one idea per day
Enter your email and spend 1 minute every day to learn something new.
I agree to receive email updates