Repeat after me: “No.”

Try it again. This time with conviction: “NO.”

Strategy is inherently about saying no. It’s about the choices we make, and the ones we don’t make. I’ve seen plenty of strategies completely derailed due to an inability to say no to that incremental initiative that’s kind of “on strategy” but not really.

Good strategists are great at leading the thinking. I believe leading the thinking is so critical to leadership that it has its own entire section in my book, One Piece of Paper (Jossey-Bass, 2011). As a leader, your job is to lead the thought processes and strategic efforts of your team. That requires you to invest time in thinking about your strategy.

The more effective you are at saying no to noncore work and singularly focusing your team on the end vision you’ve laid out, the higher the likelihood of you achieving your strategic goals. Not saying no, on the other hand, leads to dilution of your efforts and strategy by incrementalism—which is rarely effective.

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