Strategic Minds Podcast: Episode 15 – Battle-Tested Strategy: Lessons from a Four-Star General

Key Quotes

“Too much information has become the fog of war. It used to be not enough. Now it’s too much… Now you’ve got to look through haystacks of information, thousands of haystacks of information, to try to find that golden needle in the haystack that will help you make a decision.”

“ I’ve seen somebody say to me: ‘Here’s my strategy, it’s 15 pages.’ And it’s like, hey, it’s gonna fail, You might as well stop. Start again. Can’t be 15. Nobody’s gonna read it.”

“ The key is creating a learning environment where people want to learn and that after action review helps you learn and overcome those issues that may be buried if you didn’t pull them out. It’s like pulling a band aid off. You can’t be thin skinned. Sometimes it’s tough.”

Practice Makes Profit

Increasing team velocity through a decision inventory.

League of Strategic Minds

What’s the best way to tell if someone is strategic?

Winsights: Ideas for Advantage

Sun Tzu, the Chinese general and philosopher, wrote, “Do not repeat the tactics which have gained you one victory, but let your methods be regulated by the infinite variety of circumstances.” Are you and your team repeating the same tactics year after year and expecting some type of miraculous change?  Carve out time to think strategically about the changes in your market and with your customers. Stop procrastinating and start innovating.

References 

Time stamps:

(00:00) Deep Dive Interview with General Brown

(54:57) Practice Makes Profit

(56:17) League of Strategic Minds

(57:31) Winsights, Ideas for Advantage

Links

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General Brown on LinkedIn

Rich Horwath on LinkedIn
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Rich Horwath on Instagram
Strategic Thinking Institute Website
Inc. Magazine’s Top 4 book for 2024: STRATEGIC  Book
New executive development platform: Strategic Fitness System
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About the Guest 

General Brown
President & CEO, Association of the United States Army

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About the Host 

Rich Horwath, Founder & CEO
Strategic Thinking Institute  

Rich is a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of eight books on strategic thinking, including his most recent work, STRATEGIC, which was named a “top 4 must-read business book for 2024” by Inc. Magazine, and a national bestseller by USA TODAY. He has been the top rated keynote speaker on strategic thinking at national conferences for nearly 20 years.