Title: The essence of strategy: The what, the why and the how
Headings: The essence of strategy
The essence of strategy
The what, the why and the how

Content: Not any kind of choice, but the critical forks in the road; those moments where you have to make discrete choices whether to turn left or right, without having the option of turning back easily if things don't turn out the way you hope they will. Strategic decisions are trade-off decisions, which require us to weigh one option against the other, and to resolve daunting dilemmas. This is why making, and even more so, implementing strategic decisions can turn into overwhelming tasks that often lead to failure. First and foremost, given the "fork-in-the road" character of strategic decisions, strategists need to integrate three key words into their vocabulary: options, criteria and trade-offs. As we discuss below, doing so allows us to do a better job at deciding what choices to make, convincing our teams why these choices are the right ones and clarifying how they should be executed. Decide on the "What" The first critical element of any strategic choice is to think through potential options that could be pursued. If there is but one option, there is no choice to be made. Typically, however, there are two or more options to choose from to achieve specific objectives.