The Shadow Strategy
Every organization has two strategies.
Picture two parallel realities:
In the boardroom, there's the polished, PowerPointed, perfect strategy we present.
In the breakroom, there's the raw, recurring, real story we believe.
One lives in documents and slides.
The other lives in people's heads.
Watch what happens when these worlds collide...
Most companies spend months perfecting their written strategy. But they rarely examine the story their people believe:
- How does success happen?
- Why do customers buy?
- What does the future look like?
The pattern is clear: story wins every time when strategy conflicts with story.
It's not just about storytelling — it's how human minds work.
Think of it like gravity: The invisible force always wins, no matter how many flight paths you draw.
First, change the story.
Transformation doesn't start with changing slides.
It starts with shifting stories.