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/ 

_______

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.

______

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

Webomaze Pty Ltd

- Help businesses by creating result-oriented SEO strategies
- Create eye-catchy and lead generating websites
- Develop custom software solutions to automate business processes

Founder & CEO

Webomaze Technologies Private Limited

Co-Founder & CEO

TheRankerz, Inc.

At TheRankerz, Inc we help businesses to develop custom Web & Mobile based applications.

TheRankerz

xIQ Analytic Solutions

•	Interacting with clients from USA/Europe to understand their requirement and then converting project to a deliverable product by breaking it into various processes
•	Maintain relationship with clients by providing after-sales and troubleshooting the issues
•	Work closely with management and other executives to draw business development plans within existing accounts by up-selling and cross-selling
•	Create a liaison between Indian and US team, clients and IT analysts
•	Managing team of IT Analysts which involves organizing their quarterly training and development workshop
•	Created a systematic way to capture pharmaceutical marketing content from various online sources. It includes Web Advertisement, Interactive Programs for HCPs, Web Content, etc.
•	Initiated new project plan of including Pharmaceutical related Video content and Podcast
•	Providing overall Technology support like managing admin panel, supporting analysts on IT issues, analysis of competitive software, etc
•	Good knowledge of SEO and Online Marketing

IT Head

PharmaVoxx

•	Identification, capturing and compilation of pharmaceutical related content from various websites
•	Performing OCR of online batch and resolve compatibility issues
•	Continually improvement of individual content capturing accuracy level through training, education and research

Online Monitoring Analyst

KMG Infotech

•	Identification of problem and requirement gathering
•	Coding of HR Module in C#.Net and SQL-Server 2005
•	Software testing at all levels – Unit, Integration, System and Acceptance Testing
•	Created a detailed documentation on software

Trainee - C# and ASP.NET

Scaling Businesses to Millions with SEO & Inbound Leads | Clutch Featured Awards Top SEO Company in Melbourne 2023 | Co-Founder & CEO at Webomaze.com.au

You have a fantastic product or service, but you're not getting the traffic and leads you deserve. 

- Local businesses like yours struggle to stand out online
- Making it hard for potential customers to find you 
- This results in lower foot traffic, reduced sales
- Lack of reviews and trust from your target audience

Your competitors seem to be doing better, leaving you behind in the race for customers.

But what if I tell you there's a magic way to change this? 

You can MAKE SURE ALL YOUR CUSTOMERS AND CLIENTS KNOW ABOUT YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES and come to BUY FROM YOU. 

This magic way is called SEO.

The secret lies in putting your business exactly where YOUR CUSTOMERS ARE ACTIVELY LOOKING FOR YOU, 24/7. 

This is what you get with a well-thought-out SEO strategy

- You get 24/7 huge amount of traffic
- You get constant leads flow
- You receive direct calls from customer
- You stand out from your competition
- You get more sales
- You increase your revenue

At Webomaze we have served 10,000+ clients OVER A DECADE.

To give you a glimpse of what's possible, let's take a look at some real-life success stories:

A few highlights:

Client: Hardware & equipment company
Duration: 3 months

Results achieved:
- 52.86% increase in organic traffic
- 7.12K impressions on Google Search Console
- 10 keywords rank in the Top 3 positions on Google

Client: Cloud-based tracking solution company
Duration: 4 months

Results achieved:
- 161.71% jump in organic traffic in just four months.
- 1525 phone calls in a month through Google My Business.
- 183,000 impressions for the website on Google organic search.
- 25 keywords rank in the top 5 positions on Google.

Client: Video production company
Duration: 6 months

Results achieved:
- 1,243.48% increase in organic traffic
- 268,000 impressions with Google's organic search
- 3 keywords ranked in the top 3 positions
- 5 keywords ranked in the top 10 positions


Now, we're not promising overnight success. 

Good things take time. 

But with the right strategy, you're bound to see a dramatic shift. 

☎️GETTING IN TOUCH IS EASY:
📞 Schedule a 30-minute strategy call here: https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/booking/T3wQT6BDRBTaKVn5nsuW

(if you don’t find a preferred time slot, DM me)

Ravi Sharma
Founder & CEO, Webomaze Pty Ltd, 
(MOST TRUSTED SEO AGENCY IN MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA)

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