good-strategy-bad-strategy

Classify every slide as diagnosis, policy, action, goal, evidence, or fluff, then apply the four hallmark checklists: fluff, failure to face the challenge, goals mistaken for strategy, and bad objectives. Score the result on the 0-10 scale and write a rewrite path starting with the missing diagnosis paragraph.

The kernel is the minimum structure of a real strategy: a diagnosis naming the critical challenge, a guiding policy that rules out whole classes of action, and coherent actions with owners, resources, and dates. A document missing any of the three is not yet a strategy.

A goal names an ambition like 20% growth; a strategy explains how it will be achieved given the actual obstacles. Vision and mission statements are identity, not strategy. The verb audit distinguishes them: ambition verbs like grow and achieve signal goals, while choice verbs like concentrate and exit signal strategy.

Use proximate objectives when ambiguity is high and teams stall on grand targets. Set targets close enough to actually hit, such as two-to-six-week ambiguity-resolving goals with one owner and a verifiable done-test, then cascade each win into the next objective.

The framework requires honest evidence and willingness to choose, so it cannot fix organizations unwilling to name obstacles or kill sponsored initiatives. It also produces judgment-based outputs, meaning the diagnosis quality depends on the facts supplied and must be re-tested as conditions change.