WorkCookie - Get Ahead with Industrial/Organizational Psychology in the Workplace Ep. 296: Strategy vs. The To-Do List: Why Most Strategic Plans Are Just Operational Noise
Mar 9, 2026
56:43
Most leadership teams think they have a strategy. What they actually have is a list of projects.
Discussed:
· The difference between strategy and operations
(and why confusing them kills momentum) · How to identify whether a goal is truly strategic or just activity · Why last year’s “strategic goals” were likely execution improvements · The 3 diagnostic questions that reveal if something is strategy
In this episode: LindaAnn Rogers, Tom Bradshaw, Lee Crowson, Nic Krueger, Natasha Desjardins, Dan Baxter I/O Career Accelerator Course: https://www.seboc.com/job Visit us https://www.seboc.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/sebocLI Join an open-mic event: https://www.seboc.com/events References Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business School Press. Christensen, C. M., Dillon, K., Hall, T., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Know your customers’ “jobs to be done.” Harvard Business Review, 94(9), 54–62. https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Competing against luck: The story of innovation and customer choice. Harper Business. Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make competition irrelevant. Harvard Business School Press. Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61–78. https://hbr.org/1996/11/what-is-strategy I/O Career Accelerator Course: https://www.seboc.com/job Visit us https://www.seboc.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/sebocLI Join an open-mic event: https://www.seboc.com/events
Discussed:
· The difference between strategy and operations
(and why confusing them kills momentum) · How to identify whether a goal is truly strategic or just activity · Why last year’s “strategic goals” were likely execution improvements · The 3 diagnostic questions that reveal if something is strategy
In this episode: LindaAnn Rogers, Tom Bradshaw, Lee Crowson, Nic Krueger, Natasha Desjardins, Dan Baxter I/O Career Accelerator Course: https://www.seboc.com/job Visit us https://www.seboc.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/sebocLI Join an open-mic event: https://www.seboc.com/events References Christensen, C. M. (1997). The innovator’s dilemma: When new technologies cause great firms to fail. Harvard Business School Press. Christensen, C. M., Dillon, K., Hall, T., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Know your customers’ “jobs to be done.” Harvard Business Review, 94(9), 54–62. https://hbr.org/2016/09/know-your-customers-jobs-to-be-done Christensen, C. M., Hall, T., Dillon, K., & Duncan, D. S. (2016). Competing against luck: The story of innovation and customer choice. Harper Business. Kim, W. C., & Mauborgne, R. (2005). Blue ocean strategy: How to create uncontested market space and make competition irrelevant. Harvard Business School Press. Porter, M. E. (1996). What is strategy? Harvard Business Review, 74(6), 61–78. https://hbr.org/1996/11/what-is-strategy I/O Career Accelerator Course: https://www.seboc.com/job Visit us https://www.seboc.com/ Follow us on LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/sebocLI Join an open-mic event: https://www.seboc.com/events