Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me. With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention. In 2023 I set out to learn about Strategy. You can read more about my intent here. 2023 Theme: Strategy Self Grade: 10/10 I identified the following books as great places to learn about strategy and was able to make some solid progress. Good Strategy Bad Strategy (DONE) Blue Ocean Strategy (DONE) The Crux (DONE) The Art of Strategy (DONE) On grand strategy (IN PROGRESS) HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy (IN PROGRESS) Playing to Win
This year I picked Genghis Khan as my exemplar since the theme I was studying was strategy and he is widely noted as one of the best military strategists. I write these reviews following a review template to help me get the most out of the process of having an exemplar. Below is my entry for Genghis Khan. What did Genghis Khan achieve? He unified a large number of nomadic people on the Mongolian steppe and led the expansion of that kingdom until it became the largest contiguous land empire in history. Why did he care about that? I haven’t gotten any clarity into that during my study this year. It seems revenge and ambition played a role, but I also get the feeling that continual growth was just something that kept him busy and his people focused on a task. Perhaps that is all there is to it – he
Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me. With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention. In 2023 I set out to learn about Strategy. You can read more about my intent here. 2023 Theme: Strategy In terms of reading, here is my progress Good Strategy Bad Strategy HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy – IN PROGRESS Blue Ocean Strategy – IN PROGRESS The Crux Playing to Win Understanding Michael Porter The Art of Strategy Competitive Strategy Your Next Five Moves Measure What Matters Your Strategy Needs a Strategy The biggest bluff
Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me. With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention. More details about the process are in this blog post and you can review the results from past years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). 2023 Theme: Strategy I’m continuing to enjoy this subject. Strategy is essentially identification of levers and applying focused pressure on them – its a bit puzzle, and I love puzzles. In terms of reading, here is my progress Good Strategy Bad Strategy HBR’s 10 Must Reads on Strategy – IN PROGRESS Blue Ocean
Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me. With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention. More details about the process are in this blog post and you can review the results from past years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). 2023 Theme: Strategy I’m having so much fun reading about this topic. I love strategy and reading more formally about it has only served to confirm that. My brain just loves chewing on things and thinking about strategy feels satisfying in the same way it feels good to crunch into a big sandwich.
Better every year. That is my goal. I believe that through focused effort I can keep improving and ensure my best years are still in front of me. With that in mind, at the start of a new year, I take the time to set my focus for the coming year. By being selective about where I direct my energy, I can achieve results that are exponentially greater than if I split my attention. More details about the process are in this blog post and you can review the results from past years (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022). 2023 Theme: Strategy This is the sixth and final year of my current sabbath cycle, a six year period where I am focused on preparing for my calling. As I entered this six year stretch I had the belief that there are four generic skills that are highly valuable to do anything well;