Most "strategy" is bullsh*t.

Complicated.
Dense.
Timid.

And fundamentally incapable of doing the job it's meant to do: inspiring bold action that creates incredible results.

Great strategy is simple.

It's clear.
It's brave.
It's mischievous.

You can explain it to anyone, and they won't only "get it"; they'll be energised by it.

Follow me if you want to learn how to do strategy this way.

Here's how:

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1. Work with me

Each year, I work with 10 clients, and do a number of speaking engagements.

This is for brands who are ready to cut through complexity, and make waves in their market with confidence and clarity.

I’m with you every step.

If this might be you, drop me a DM or check out www.basicarts.org/work-with-alex/ 

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2. Get a new strategy technique every week

...by joining 25,000+ others  in the best strategic thinking community on the internet, The Hidden Path. You'll also get two free tools to sharpen and tidy your thinking. Just go here:

www.basicarts.org/template

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3. Master the basics for the price of a cocktail

...by reading my book, No Bullsh*t Strategy. It'll teach you everything you need to know in one 138 page hit.

Just search for it on Amazon, or wherever you like to buy books.

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4. Subscribe to my YouTube for weekly masterclasses

You'll find it here: youtube.com/alexmhsmith

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5. If you're a small business or strategy pro...

...then you can get my entire approach, ready to roll, in the Strategy Shortcut System. Use it on your own business, use it on your clients - either way it's the fastest and funnest way of getting competitive advantage on the planet.

www.strategyshortcutsystem.com

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Never forget, business should be an adventure.

And strategy?  It’s the map.

Let's set out.

Alex

Alex M H Smith

Are there more important strategy skills than these?

Sure. But that's the boring stuff.

Here, I wanted to create a list of less obvious things. The skills people don't tend to talk about, but which I think are pretty damn useful.

Here's a brief explanation of each.

1. Writing well

Writing is thinking that you can share. And this is pretty much the whole of what strategy is - thinking then sharing it - so honestly, you can't do without this.

2. Feeling comfortable generalising

Strategy is about zoomed-out, big-picture perspectives. And that means painting with a broad brush. Some people don't feel comfortable doing this, and so strategy isn't for them.

3. Being a teensy bit negative

If you're doing strategy, you're trying to improve something. Which must begin with noticing what's wrong with it. You can't be a cheerleader for something, and change its path.

4. An eye for aesthetics

Partially this is about pattern-spotting (a core strategy skill). But it's also about influence. If you want to persuade people, then make it pretty.

5. A sense of humour

Yes, it helps with rapport - but more importantly humour comes from observation and lateral thinking. I don't really see how you can be a good strategist without being kinda funny.

6. Being a PowerPoint master

Oh man do I love PowerPoint (or Keynote in my case). And you've got to. Knowing the art of pleasing rhythmic presentations is huge, since this is how you're probably going to sell your idea.

7. Kindness and warmth

People won't listen to you if they don't like you.

8. Radical simplification

My favourite strategy question to ask is "give me this gist". Being able to simplify to the gist shows understanding, and drives clarity.

9. Curiosity

You need to just be generally interested in random "stuff", and gather it in the library of your mind - since you never know when the most obscure thing might come in handy.

10. An authoritarian streak

Hey, you don't have to like it, but eventually you're going to need to tell people what to do. Many great thinkers have been undone by not having the confidence to do this.

11. A distaste for perfectionism

A great strategy is always a bit of a punt, that might not stand up to minute scrutiny. So sometimes it's best to just trust your gut, and see how it goes.

12. A touch of cynicism

You are trying to work with how the world is - not how you wish it would be. So you need to be a realist about human nature, and the darker side of the world.

13. The ability to touch-type

This means you can write as quick as you can think. Insanely underrated.

14. Understanding branding

Most strategy is not branding - but a bit of it is, and it's the less "rational" part. You can't truly understand market dynamics without it.

15. Storytelling

A strategy, in the end, is a story. And it will work to the extent people are captured by it.

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Got any more? Put em in the comments.

Refine all these skills, for free, here: https://lnkd.in/eJSPsGUf

No Bullsh*t Strategy | Helping the world’s most iconic brands make smarter, braver decisions | Author | Advisor | Speaker

Aazar Ali Shad

The Performers

Paid social mastermind group where you'll find answers to the most challenging questions that no one else could help you with.

Gain access to the network of media buyers you've always craved, and uncover the secrets of the digital advertising elite.

Founder

Shad Venture UG

Providing growth marketing consultancy and advisory services with:

- Paid Social
- Paid Search


Current & old clients: The Perfect Jean, Hello Fresh, Science&Humans, Moonbird, Curious Cardinals, Synthesis, Kinedu, Plei App and more.

Paid Social Ads & Creative Strategist Consultant

Synthesis

Weekly, 1-hour simulations that fuel innovative thinking and challenge kids to collaborate in complex environments.
‍
Join our community to get early access:
https://www.synthesis.is/

Growth Marketing Lead

Userpilot

Growth Advisor

Userpilot helps product teams deliver personalized in-app experiences to increase growth metrics at every stage of the user journey.

Head of Growth

Growth Marketing Stories

Growth Marketing Stories is a podcast for marketers & founders who are in the messy middle. 

It's raw. It's actionable. It's honest.

Growth Marketing Stories Podcast will:
- Inspire you to become better version 
- Share mental models and frameworks to apply
- Discuss Lessons & mistakes so you improve
- Go deep more than just tips and tactics
- Focus on strategy, flywheels and mindset

Some of our guests were: April Dunford, Amanda Natividad, Rand Fishkin, Peep Laja, Andrew Capland, Harry Dry and more.

Some of the brands these marketers are from: CXL, Buffer, Google, Groove, Obvi, Wistia, Postscript, Careem, Panda Doc, Animalz, Airtable, Truebill and more.

Proudly sponsored by: Growth Mentor and Ahrefs

Podcast Host

VITALS

Vitals is a single lightweight shopify app that generates sales and replaces 40+ commonly used apps.

The app will help you with:
- Increase conversions
- Boost revenue
- Build more trust
- Improve stores' user experience

ECOMPLY.io

ECOMPLY.io offers a SaaS privacy management system in compliance with the GDPR.

We provide a GDPR solution for the Records of Processing Activities, DPIA, Vendor Risk Management, Data Subject Rights, and the GDPR Audit. 

Get in touch with us at contact@ecomply.io

Cofounder & CMO

Accredible

Accredible is a Certificate Management System designed to make the entire certification pipeline easier and cheaper. Issue the most advanced digital certificates in the world, update and revoke live certificates and view analytics on how your recipients use them.

Sales & Growth Manager

Lieferoo UG

Lieferoo is a community of trusted travelers & senders. We facilitate express & normal delivery of items which you are unable to send through traditional courier system. We help you send stuff along with the travelers who are going in the same direction anyway.

We are exploiting existing transportation of people traveling via cars, trains & buses. You can request a traveler to deliver an (awkward) item/s – things like furniture, bikes, Ski or Snowboard equipment etc. for you (Obviously if it aligns with their travel plan)

Co-Founder

matchinguu UG

AdTech Company Providing Programmatic Mobile Push Sales & Marketing Infrastructure.
Helping apps and advertisers to activate, engage, grow and monetize their existing user base and new target groups.

Strategy Business Development Manager

Grown several tech companies from 0 to 8 figures I Paid Social Growth Marketer I I deconstruct paid marketing so you can level up.

After 5 years in sales, I moved to marketing.

Frankly, I love it. I learned marketing by starting 2 startups and side hustles. 

Then, I found my Ikagai: Growth Marketing. I became Head of Growth at Userpilot (Grew it to 7-figures and beyond). And then, I moved to become an advisor.

Now, I have grown several tech/SaaS companies from 0 to 8 figures. Currently, I lead paid social and growth initiatives at 3 different D2C tech companies. 


❇️ Paid Growth Marketing Newsletter:
Get smarter about paid growth marketing in 5 minutes. I analyze the best brands on paid social to give you insights to level up your marketing: https://theperformers.beehiiv.com/subscribe

___
❇️ Podcast: Growth Marketing Stories
I deconstruct how companies grow with marketing and share learnings along the way. Folks from Wistia, Postscript, Buffer, Truebill, Airtable, Oribi, Attentive, PandaDoc, Baremetrics, CXL, and many others have joined. Give it a listen here: https://pod.co/growth-marketing-stories/

Thank you for visiting my profile. Feel free to reach out at aazar@aazarshad.com.

Growth Marketing Consultant

Providing growth marketing consultancy and advisory services with:

- Paid Social
- Paid Search
- Content Marketing & SEO
- Conversion Rate Optimization

Invested in: Maven, Gumroad, Vuvei Ventures, Synthesis, Userpilot, Breshna and more.

Current clients: MakerKids and Prequel.

Dear Internet, steal my ugly ads with pride.

Scaling Brands from $1Mn to $10Mn with Meta Ads — Ads Nerd — I Create Un-Ignorable Ads To Reduce CAC

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