Writing a strategy document that people actually use

Most strategy documents are written to be approved, not to be used. They are long, they cover everything, and they are structured around what the leadership team wanted to say rather than what the people reading them need to know. The result is a document that everyone agrees with and no one refers to.

The structural problem with most strategy documents ¶

A strategy document that tries to cover everything ends up guiding nothing. The length signals thoroughness but works against usability. When someone faces a real decision and reaches for the strategy document, they need to find the relevant section quickly and trust that it gives them a clear steer. A 40-page document with a table of contents does not do that.

The documents that actually get used tend to be short. Not because the thinking behind them is shallow, but because the thinking has been done and the document reflects the conclusions rather than the process of reaching them.

What a usable strategy document contains ¶

Three things: a clear statement of what the organisation is trying to achieve in a specific time horizon, a set of explicit priorities that tell people what to do when two good things are in competition, and a short list of things the organisation has decided not to do.

The 'not doing' list is the most useful and the most commonly omitted. Without it, every new opportunity looks like it might be in scope. With it, people can make resource allocation decisions without escalating every borderline case.

How to test whether the document is working ¶

Six months after a strategy document is finalised, ask five people in the organisation to describe the top three priorities without looking at it. If the answers are consistent, the document is working. If they are not, the document has not embedded, regardless of how many people approved it.

This test is worth running before you invest in a full strategy review. If the current document is not embedded, the problem may be communication and reinforcement rather than the strategy itself.

A strategy document is a tool. Its value is measured by whether it changes how decisions get made, not by how well it describes the thinking that went into it.