Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
The difference and Why It Matters

Main Tools & Concepts
Strategy Kernel

Overview:
Richard Rumelt provides a logical structure he calls a "kernel" to describe the components of a good organisations strategy. Rumelt developed his structure after having studied and taught strategy at UCLA for over 50 years.

​Main Tool or Insight: The Strategy Kernel: (exerpt from the book in italics below) 

The core of strategy work is always the same: discovering the critical factors in a situation and designing a way of coordinating and focusing actions to deal with those factors.

A good strategy has an logical structure based on a “kernel” of four essential elements:

1. The goals of the organisation, often underpinned by a core purpose
2. A diagnosis of the key factors and obstacles to achieving the goals
3. A guiding policy  specifying the approach to dealing with the factors and obstacles identified in the diagnosis
4. A coherent set of actions: feasible coordinated processes, resource commitments and actions designed to carry out the guiding policy​

Author	​Richard Rumelt
Publisher	Profile Books
Date	2011, 2017
Amazon (A)*	​amzn.to/2LD15za
Author's Website	​goodbadstrategy.com/

Context within the 6 Step Strategy Framework

The Stragegy Kernel can be used as a checklist to ensure that the 6-Step Strategy Framework identifies the four essential elements identified by Rumelts Kernel - The goals and purpose of the organisation, the key factors and obstacles, and a coherent set of actions
​

Review:
by Huw Griffiths  10th Jan 2021

I first came across Richard's work in 2012 when I heard him speak at a conference in Melbourne, Australia. It was one of those times when you know you have found someone who deeply knows his subject and has "hit the nail on the head" in terms of developing a simple, broad but useful definition of strategy. There have been many different definitions of what strategy is and is not from leading authors and academics on the subject over the last 50 years, but for me Richard's definition is broad and flexible enough to cover the main components of a good strategy whilst also including the need to specify how a strategy will be implemented.  The effective checklist of components which make up a good strategy are therefore represented into the Holegy 6-Step Strategy Framework. 

At the conference, there was a comment from Richard about how the number of books on strategy had proliferated during his career that got me interested in researching the range of tools, frameworks and methodologies that exist in the field of strategy.  Richard's observations were borne out in subsequent research conducted by several authors from the Boston Consulting Group / Henderson Research Institute a few years later in their book Your Strategy Needs a Strategy.  In that book, they identified over 80 significant frameworks that had been developed over the last 50 years. 

Whilst I agree with much of what Richard writes, particularly about the current state of so much "bad strategy"  I found there is one "chicken and egg" statement which he makes in the introduction with regards to the fact that "good strategy does not pop out of some management tool, matrix, chart... or fill in the blanks scheme". Instead, he writes that "a talented leader identifies the one or two critical issues in the situation... and then focuses and concentrates action and resources on them". 

Whilst I agree that answers don’t just drop out of tools, they should not be dismissed as not being useful particularly if you do not yet qualify as a natural "talented leader". For all of you who fall into this group, I view tools as useful prompts to help you ask relevant questions and gain new insights and perspectives on your educational journey to becoming a talented leader. Much of our training and coaching work here at Holegy is designed to help individuals and teams rapidly identify what Rumelt would define as the "one or two critical issues" 

The book goes on to provides more insight into what Rumelt considers good versus bad strategy which he illustrates with examples of case studies. If you need a solid introduction to what strategy is and is not, this book clearly describes the difference between the two in the introduction Part I of the book before providing a number of case studies in Part II.

Relevance or Relationship with other tools and insigts

Tool	Relevance
Wikipedia - Definition of Strategy	In providing a definition of strategy, Wikipedia also references Rumelt and his Kernel, as well as then introducing other definitions of strategy over time from other leading strategy practitioners, authors and academics.
Your Strategy needs a Strategy	This book builds on Richards observation that there are many strategy tools, and provides another useful initial question to ask, namely what approach should you take to strategy.