How to write a compelling strategy on 1 page

The First Stage to Develop Customer Management as a Competitive Edge

INTRODUCTION

There's a moment that comes to every business leader. Perhaps you've experienced it yourself? You're sitting in a boardroom, and someone asks the deceptively simple question: "So, what exactly is our strategy?" The silence that follows is telling. Not because people don't care, but because nobody can articulate it clearly despite all the planning documents, PowerPoint presentations, and strategic retreats.

Last month's newsletter introduced our framework for customer management excellence. This comprehensive five-stage model transforms how organisations think about, engage with, and grow their most valuable relationships. Today, we focus on the beating heart of this system: the customer management strategy itself.

To be effective, all five stages need careful consideration and development. But without a crystal-clear strategy at the centre, even the most sophisticated segmentation models and brilliant value propositions become academic exercises.

 DOWNLOAD PDF: How to write a compelling strategy on 1-page ARTICLE

What makes this technique extraordinary is its versatility. Over the past two decades, I've watched hundreds of professionals, from Key Account Managers to CEOs. They have all adopted this one-page approach to transform not just their customer strategies, but their entire strategic thinking. We've seen it applied to assess competitor strategies, evaluate supplier relationships, guide merger decisions, and yes, even help executives clarify their personal life strategies. That's the power of good strategic thinking: once you master it, it becomes a lens through which you see every challenge more clearly.

This is more than an introduction, it's an invitation to join an elite group. The Harvard Business Review paper "Can You Say What Your Strategy Is?" reveals a dirty little secret: Most executives simply cannot articulate their company's strategy. Why? Because it hasn't been communicated clearly, strategy formation remains a critically under-developed skill among corporate leaders.

But here's what I've learned from working with hundreds of organisations: those who master this one-page approach become part of the top 10% of executives who can actually build and communicate strategy effectively. They become the leaders others turn to when clarity is needed.

What is strategy, anyway?

I remember a conversation with a brilliant CEO who'd built a £50 million business. When I asked him to describe his strategy, he talked for twenty minutes about operational excellence, customer service, and market positioning. All good things, but when he finished, I asked a simple question: "So what's the strategy?" He paused, smiled ruefully, and said, "I think I just proved your point."

As the author and consultant Rick Page once observed: "Hope is not a strategy." Yet how often do we see strategic documents filled with aspirational statements and wishful thinking.

Strategy is something entirely different.

A strategy is not a vision statement, though vision matters. It's not a list of goals, though goals are important. It's not a budget, though resources are crucial. Strategy is the coherent set of choices about where to play and how to win that creates sustainable competitive advantage.

Think of strategy as your organisation's theory of success. A clear hypothesis about what you will do differently from competitors to create superior customer value and capture that value for your organisation. It's the bridge between your current reality and your desired future, built not from hope but from rigorous analysis and difficult choices.

What strategy is NOT is equally important. It's not trying to be everything to everyone. It's not a collection of best practices copied from successful companies. It's not a plan to be incrementally better at what everyone else is doing. Real strategy requires the courage to say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones.

Why is strategy so difficult?

The diagram illustrates four fundamental challenges that make strategy formulation one of the most difficult disciplines in business:

Strategy is Confused with Planning. I've sat through countless "strategic planning" sessions that were actually operational planning meetings with a fancy name. Planning asks "how" while strategy asks "what" and "where." Planning assumes the current approach is correct and focuses on execution. Strategy questions everything and demands choices.

Vision Without Clarity. Ask most leaders about their vision for the future, and you'll get inspiring but vague responses. "We want to be the market leader in providing exceptional customer value." Lovely sentiment, but what does it actually mean? Which market? Exceptional how? Compared to whom? Strategy demands specificity.

Today's Urgency Kicks Tomorrow in the Teeth. This is perhaps the most insidious challenge. Urgent operational issues always feel more important than strategic thinking. The phone call from an unhappy customer feels more real than planning for market changes five years out. But as someone once told me, "The urgent is seldom important, and the important is seldom urgent."

Change is Painful. Strategy inevitably demands change, and change means some people will be uncomfortable. Some products might be discontinued. Some customer segments might be de-prioritized. Some beloved ways of working might need to evolve. The resistance to these changes often kills strategic initiatives before they begin.

I learned this lesson painfully early in my career. A technology company I was advising had developed a brilliant strategy to move from low-margin manufacturing to high-margin services. Analytically, it was perfect. Financially, it was compelling. Strategically, it was essential. But the manufacturing team saw it as a threat to their expertise and status. Without addressing the human element of change, even the most brilliant strategy becomes just another unused document.

Step by Step - How to build a compelling 1-page strategy

Here's where the magic happens. This isn't theory.

This is a battle tested, step-by-step methodology that has been used successfully by hundreds of professionals across industries and continents for over two decades.

The beauty of this approach lies in its systematic nature. By following these six steps, you'll create not just a strategy, but a strategic artifact that becomes a living document for your organization.

The Six-Step Model:

1. Define the Strategy: Establish the foundational framework
2. What's Your Purpose? Clarify why you exist and what you're trying to achieve
3. Set Your B.H.A.G. Define your Big Hairy Audacious Goal
4. Analyse the External Environment: Understand the playing field
5. Analyse Your Internal Capabilities: Know your strengths and weaknesses
6. State Your Strategic Initiatives: Determine specific actions
7.  

This model builds directly on Weihrich's TOWS framework but adds practical structure that makes it immediately actionable for customer management professionals.

 DOWNLOAD PDF How to write a compelling strategy on 1-page - ARTICLE

The complete Step-by-Step Guide is available for download and provides a detailed playbook for each of these six steps and a real-world case study that demonstrates the entire process in action.

Let me share what happened when a consulting firm applied this methodology. They were struggling with declining margins and increasing competition. Using this six-step process, they discovered their real competitive advantage wasn't in general consulting but in their deep expertise in environmental compliance for manufacturing companies.

The strategies they implemented were focused on Value-Based KAM and customer portfolio segmentation. It was a customer management strategy that accelertaed their business results.

That insight led to a complete repositioning that tripled their margins within 18 months.

The example strategy shows how all elements come together on a single page: clear purpose, specific goals, honest assessment of strengths and weaknesses, external opportunities and threats, and ten concrete strategic initiatives. Most importantly, it passes the ultimate test: anyone reading it understands exactly what this company does, for whom, and how they plan to win.

Tips for building a compelling strategy

After watching hundreds of strategy development processes, certain patterns separate successful efforts from failed ones. Here are the critical success factors:

Create a Burning Bridge. Strategy leads to change and change only happens when people perceive a genuine problem that demands action. Strategy development becomes an academic exercise if your organisation is comfortable with the status quo. You must help people understand why maintaining the current path is actually the riskiest option.

Secure Executive Sponsorship. Strategy without senior support is just expensive wishful thinking. Get a board member or senior executive to sponsor the initiative, agree to the scope, and commit the necessary resources, time, and political capital. I've seen brilliant strategies die because they lacked a champion when implementation got difficult.

Build a Cross-Functional Team. You cannot develop an effective strategy alone. Different functions see different aspects of the business reality. The sales team knows customer pain points the finance team never sees. The operations team understands cost drivers the marketing team might miss. Strategy emerges from the intersection of multiple perspectives.

Protect Time to Think. Strategic thinking requires space away from operational urgency. Get your sponsor to provide cover from day-to-day demands. Some of the best strategic insights I've witnessed came during off-site sessions where teams could think beyond quarterly pressures.

Obsess About Customers and Competitors. Your strengths and weaknesses only matter relative to what customers value and how competitors perform. Be ruthlessly specific about which customers you're trying to serve and which competitors you're trying to beat. Generic strategies produce generic results.

Pursue Curious Research. If your research only confirms what you already believe, you're not researching. You are validating. Be curious about data that challenges your assumptions. The most powerful strategic insights often come from unexpected sources.

Look Outside Your Industry. If you only study competitors in your industry, you'll only discover industry-standard solutions. The most innovative strategies often borrow concepts from completely different sectors. Netflix didn't learn about streaming from video rental companies, they learned from technology companies.

Embrace Crazy Ideas. As Steve Jobs reminded us, "Here's to the crazy ones... because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do." Strategy requires thinking differently about familiar problems. Safe strategies rarely create sustainable competitive advantage.

Develop your skills to become a master of strategy

Mastering strategic thinking isn't just about following a process, it's about developing a comprehensive skill set that makes you invaluable to any organisation.

Strategic Thinking is the foundation—the ability to see patterns, connect disparate ideas, anticipate trends, and identify underlying dynamics that others miss. This isn't just about intelligence; it's about developing the discipline to step back from operational details and ask more significant questions regularly.

Strategic Models provide the analytical frameworks that turn intuition into insight. Understanding and applying tools like Porter's Five Forces, Blue Ocean Strategy, or the Business Model Canvas gives you structured approaches for diagnosis and strategic option generation.

Offer Development & Innovation capabilities ensure your strategies remain relevant as markets evolve. The most successful organisations don't just respond to changing customer needs, they anticipate and shape them.

Change Management skills are crucial because brilliant strategies mean nothing without effective implementation. Managing resistance, building buy-in, and maintaining momentum through difficult transitions separates successful strategists from academic theorists.

Business Model Design translates strategic intent into practical operations. Understanding how to structure value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms turns strategy from concept into competitive advantage.

Measurement and Tracking Systems provide the feedback loops that enable adaptive strategy. In today's rapidly changing environment, the ability to monitor progress and adjust course quickly can be the difference between success and failure.

These six capabilities, developed together, create what I call "strategic leadership" or the ability to not just develop strategies, but to make them happen in the real world.

Join an elite group

Here's what I've learned after two decades of strategy work: organisations that master this one-page approach don't just improve their performance, they fundamentally change how they think about their business. Their leaders become more confident decision-makers. Their teams become more aligned around common goals. Their customers receive more focused value.

You have the opportunity to join this elite group. The methodology is proven. The tools are available. The only question is whether you'll commit to the discipline required to think and act strategically.

Download the Step-by-Step Guide and begin your transformation today. Work through the six steps with your team. Create your one-page strategy. Join the top 10% of executives who can actually build and communicate strategy effectively.

But remember, this is just the first stage of customer management excellence. A brilliant strategy means nothing without the right approach to customer segmentation, the foundation upon which all successful customer management is built.

COMING NEXT WEEK

The keystone of sales success.

Next week, we'll explore "How to Segment Your Customer Portfolio: The Keystone of Any Sales Organization." You'll discover why most segmentation approaches fail, learn the proven methodology that top-performing organizations use to identify their most valuable customers, and get the practical tools to implement a segmentation system that drives both revenue growth and profitability.

 DOWNLOAD PDF How to write a compelling strategy on 1-page ARTICLE

Strategic thinking without strategic segmentation is like having a sports car without a roadmap. There is lots of potential with no clear direction. Don't miss this critical next step in building your customer management excellence.

Remember: Strategy is not about predicting the future, it's about preparing for multiple futures and positioning yourself to thrive regardless of which one emerges. Master this discipline, and you master the art of business leadership itself.

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When you are ready, there are a few ways I can help. 

1. DOWNLOAD THE RETHINKING KAM ARTICLE:

If you want to find out more about Value-Based KAM and how it can become a significant competitive advantage to your business, click below and receive a copy of my latest article:

Rethinking Key Account Management: The 4 blocks to ignite KAM as your strategic competitive advantage.

If you would like a copy, please follow the link below

 Click here for the Rethinking Key Account Management Article.

2. GET IN TOUCH TO DISCUSS COACHING OR TRAINING

Click on the link below, and we can start a discussion about your business needs and how a value-based approach might help you grow your sales.

I offer two streams of coaching: 

1. Key Account Management
2. Offer Development & Innovation

I'd be pleased to have an initial conversation with you!

 Click here to access the Value-Matters Coaching Options.

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Footnote

The insights, strategies, and opinions shared in this newsletter reflect the author's personal perspectives and experiences. While we strive to provide valuable and actionable information, please use your own judgment when implementing any recommendations. Results may vary based on your specific circumstances, market conditions, and implementation approach. The author and publisher accept no liability for decisions made based on this content. You're the expert in your business, we're just here to spark ideas!

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