Strategy Needs a Brain and a Soul

We value the rigor of classic strategy models. Frameworks like Porter’s Five Forces remain powerful tools for understanding competitive advantage and industry dynamics.

But tools alone aren’t enough.

That’s why we adapt these traditional models into a future-vision context—analytical discipline, paired with purpose, craft, and human judgment.

Strategy with structure, but also with meaning.

From Competitive Advantage to Organizational Excellence

In our experiential workshops, we focus on Horizon 1 improvement—the here-and-now work of making the organization better today. This aligns closely with Porter’s view of strategy as competitive positioning and advantage.

Where we differ is how that improvement happens.

We don’t treat improvement as a top-down exercise or a spreadsheet-driven mandate. We engage front-line staff, often during benchtime, in small, cross-functional teams. The work is practical, grounded, and continuous—focused on real problems, real interactions, and real constraints.

And critically, it’s all connected to a clear future vision.

This is where the “soul” comes in.

Yes, You Still Chop Wood and Haul Water

—but Now You Know Why

Operational work doesn’t disappear. You still chop wood. You still haul water.

The difference is the smirk.

Because when people understand why the work matters—and how today’s improvements connect to tomorrow’s direction—execution changes.

Engagement deepens. Improvement accelerates.

It’s the same idea captured in that well-known quote attributed to Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

When they see the horizon, the day-to-day work doesn’t vanish—it gets done better, and it keeps getting better.

That’s the balance we aim for: rigorous strategy, human-centered execution, and continuous improvement with purpose.

Not Porter or Mintzberg. But Porter and Mintzberg—working together, in the real world. (http://www.mintzberg.org/blog/porterian-and-peterian-performance)