Global Advisors | Quantified Strategy Consulting

“Bad strategy is the active avoidance of the hard work of crafting a good strategy.” – Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Richard Rumelt’s work fundamentally reshaped how organizations and leaders approach the concept of strategy. The quote above highlights one of his most impactful insights: that bad strategy is not merely the absence of good intentions or smart people, but often a deliberate sidestep away from the demanding, honest work that true strategy requires.

In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, Rumelt describes how strategy is frequently misunderstood and misapplied across organizations of all sizes. He observed that too often, what passes for “strategy” is a collection of ambitious goals, vague aspirations, or inspirational slogans. These may sound compelling, but they rarely grapple with the specific challenges or obstacles standing in the way of progress.

Rumelt emphasizes that developing good strategy demands serious effort: clear-eyed diagnosis of the real problem, formulation of guiding policies, and determination of coherent actions that address the root causes rather than the symptoms. This process can be uncomfortable and time-consuming, requiring leaders to confront unpleasant facts, challenge cherished assumptions, and make tough choices about what not to do.

The “active avoidance” Rumelt describes often manifests as substituting vision statements or a laundry list of goals for the deeper analytical work required. Leaders may focus on surface-level explanations such as “underperformance” without delving into why performance is lacking or what makes the challenge particularly difficult. In avoiding the discomfort and ambiguity inherent in diagnosing the true problem, organizations fall into the trap of “bad strategy”—plans that look polished but are disconnected from reality and unlikely to guide effective action.

Rumelt’s insight urges decision-makers to resist these shortcuts. He teaches that the heart of effective strategy is not found in lofty words or sheer optimism, but in the disciplined process of identifying the critical issues and focusing resources and attention on overcoming them. In his view, the willingness to do this hard work is what separates meaningful strategies from empty declarations.

About Richard Rumelt

Richard Rumelt is internationally recognized as a pioneer of strategic thought. As a professor emeritus at UCLA Anderson School of Management, he has spent decades studying organizations, advising leaders, and helping executives discern what truly drives success. Rumelt’s rigorous, practical approach challenges conventional wisdom by insisting that strategy starts with honest analysis and focused action—not with vision alone or the accumulation of goals.

His writing and teaching distill strategy to its essentials: diagnosis, guiding policy, and coherent action. Rumelt’s legacy is a body of work that encourages leaders to look past buzzwords and bravely tackle the real work of crafting solutions that make a measurable difference. This quote, and the thinking behind it, remains a call for rigor, honesty, and focus in every arena where strategy matters.

“A strategy is like a lever that magnifies force.” – Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Richard Rumelt’s compelling analogy between strategy and a lever lies at the very heart of his influential work, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy. In both engineering and physics, a lever allows a person to move a heavy load with far less effort by focusing force at a precise point. Rumelt uses this image to illustrate a core principle of effective strategy: when well-designed, strategy concentrates energy and resources on pivotal challenges, turning even limited means into outsized results.

Rumelt’s thinking developed through decades of observing how organizations actually attempt to solve tough problems. He noticed that many approaches labeled as “strategy” were little more than ambition disguised as planning—collections of generic goals and empty statements, lacking in focus and leverage. From boardrooms to battlefields, Rumelt saw that real effectiveness comes when leaders zero in on the critical issue, identify what truly matters, and align efforts behind actions that will make the biggest difference.

In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, Rumelt demystifies strategy, stripping it of jargon and returning it to its essence: a means of magnifying limited resources to overcome a specific obstacle. He explains that a strong strategy doesn’t try to do everything, nor does it spread efforts thin. Instead, through a clear diagnosis of the situation, a guiding policy, and a set of coherent actions, strategy achieves leverage—the kind of focus that turns a modest push into a powerful outcome. This is the difference between a scattered to-do list and a unified, force-multiplying plan.

The quote reflects Rumelt’s conviction that the power of strategy lies not in its volume or aspiration, but in its ability to leverage strengths against the right challenges, creating a force that is greater than the sum of its parts.

About Richard Rumelt

Richard Rumelt is recognized globally as one of the leading authorities on strategy. As a professor emeritus at UCLA Anderson School of Management and a sought-after advisor to corporations and governments, Rumelt has devoted his career to unraveling what separates success from failure in strategic thinking. His early trailblazing research helped establish the field of strategic management, challenging conventional wisdom and emphasizing that true strategy comes from insight, focus, and decisive action.

Rumelt’s legacy is defined by his insistence on intellectual honesty: he urges leaders to confront hard truths, resist the allure of pleasing visions, and find the real point of leverage in their situations. Through his books, lectures, and consulting, he has reshaped how leaders around the world understand and apply strategy, making his insights a cornerstone for those seeking real impact in uncertain environments.

His metaphor of strategy as a lever continues to inspire, reminding us that the right focus and alignment can turn even the smallest effort into transformative progress.

“A strategy coordinates action to address a specific challenge.” – Richard Rumelt, Good Strategy Bad Strategy: The Difference and Why It Matters

Richard Rumelt’s landmark book, Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, emerged from decades of experience as a scholar, consultant, and observer of strategy in action—across industries, governments, and militaries. The quote above crystallizes one of Rumelt’s core convictions: that real strategy is not a set of grand aspirations or vague intentions, but a focused response to concrete obstacles.

Rumelt’s insight was shaped by seeing how organizations often confuse strategic thinking with lists of goals, motivational slogans, or buzzword-laden visions. He observed a widespread tendency—especially in leadership settings—to treat strategy as a document filled with optimistic targets, rather than a rigorous approach that wrestles with reality. In his research and consulting, Rumelt noticed that many well-meaning efforts failed because leaders avoided the hard work of facing problems head-on, opting instead for what he calls “bad strategy”: rhetoric, platitudes, and generic plans that skirt the real issues.

In Good Strategy/Bad Strategy, Rumelt lays out a powerful counterpoint. For him, every effective strategy starts with a clear-eyed diagnosis of the situation. This is followed by a guiding policy—a theory of what will work—and finally a set of coherent actions that marshal resources to address the genuine challenge at hand. The quote underscores this process: strategy is fundamentally about coordinated action directed at a specific challenge, not just a wish-list or a catchphrase.

Rumelt’s ideas are illustrated with vivid examples, from Apple’s turnaround to the strategic blunders and successes of military campaigns, making the book practical and engaging for leaders across sectors. His message is as much about intellectual honesty as tactical acumen—reminding readers that the heart of strategy beats where analysis, choice, and action meet.

About Richard Rumelt

Richard Rumelt is widely regarded as one of the world’s foremost thinkers on strategy. He serves as a professor emeritus at UCLA Anderson School of Management and has consulted for leading corporations and public institutions worldwide. Rumelt’s early research challenged the prevailing “structure-conduct-performance” paradigm in economics, helping to pioneer the modern field of strategic management.

Beyond academia, Rumelt’s reputation comes from his sharp, practical analyses and his insistence on facing facts. In interviews and writings, he dismisses the notion that strategy is just about setting big goals or adopting best practices. Instead, he emphasizes that strategy requires identifying the pivotal challenges that stand in the way of success and crafting coordinated approaches to overcome them. Rumelt’s ideas have profoundly influenced how leaders approach problem-solving, making him a central voice in contemporary strategy discussions.

His enduring lesson is clear: strategy is not a luxury or a buzzword, but the discipline of coordinated action in the face of challenge—a theme at the core of his work, and powerfully summarized in the quote featured today.