Strategic direction

Background

A section in a large organisation has a lot pulling at it. A mandate. An organisational strategy. Steering documents and allocation letters. User insight and research.

All of it matters. None of it tells you on its own what to prioritise. The leadership team wanted to turn it into a frame they could stand behind.

The lens

We build on Richard Rumelt's kernel of strategy. It has three parts: a diagnosis of what is really going on, a guiding policy for how to meet the challenge, and actions that support each other.

The diagnosis comes first. A lot of strategy work jumps straight to goals. We've written more about why that's a bad idea in Strategy is a diagnosis.

What we do

• Lead and facilitate a series of workshops with the leadership team
• Structure the problems so they can be discussed and decided on
• Interview product leads and domain leads, so the whole section is heard
• Build a shared understanding of the problem before anyone jumps to solutions

In May 2026 we planned and led a gathering for around 70 people in the section. Same principles as a leadership meeting, just a much bigger room.

Status

The work is ongoing, so the rest of the story isn't written yet.