Here's my test. Tell me your strategy in four words. Not a tagline. Not a mission statement. The strategic essence.
Why four words
Four words forces compression. It kills jargon. It murders the vague.
- Italian Sport Couture. FILA's entire repositioning in three words
- Artistic Entertainment. Cirque du Soleil's post-pandemic rebirth
- Emotionally Intelligent Vehicles. Sony Honda Mobility's bet on the future
Each one changed everything downstream. Product decisions. Hiring. Partnerships. Marketing. All of it snapped into focus.
The compression test
If your strategy takes a paragraph to explain, it's not a strategy. It's a wish list.
Four words is hard. That's the point. The difficulty is the filter. When you land on the right four words, everyone in the room knows it.
Compress until it's undeniable.