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In a world growing more complex and emotionally disoriented, that’s not just unsustainable—it’s dangerous. It’s time for a Strategy Renaissance. We need to move beyond sterile planning cycles and rediscover the human heart of strategy. 

In this new era of work, meaning isn’t a bonus feature—it’s your sharpest edge.

The Great Divide Between Strategy and Meaning

We have long treated strategy as the realm of numbers and logic, while purpose was relegated to the marketing department or buried in mission statements no one remembers. 

This divide has created companies that appear aligned on paper, but feel disjointed in practice. Metrics without meaning drive burnout. Planning without purpose breeds disengagement. And when disruption inevitably hits, strategies built only on spreadsheets crumble. 

What endures? Shared purpose, collective clarity, and meaningful momentum.

Illuminate the Whole Strategy Cube

Imagine your organization as a cube. Each face represents a facet of identity: values, operations, leadership, culture, customers, and employees.

Most companies only illuminate one or two sides—the brand and the performance dashboard. The rest remains in the shadows. And when strategy reflects only the visible parts, it becomes hollow. 

The companies that are thriving today are the ones brave enough to illuminate the whole cube. That means surfacing the hidden brilliance within teams, reclaiming the narratives that shape culture, and embracing the messy, multidimensional nature of real human work.

I advised a global biotech company whose strategy had become siloed, driven by financial targets but disconnected from employee experience. Through facilitated dialogue sessions, we helped the executive team rediscover their collective purpose. 

Within months, they restructured their planning process around a set of guiding principles, resulting in a 22% improvement in employee engagement scores and a renewed sense of cohesion across departments.

When you bring every side of the cube into the light, strategy becomes not just aligned, but alive.

Dialogue Before Direction: The Campfire as a Strategic Tool

Strategy doesn’t start with a spreadsheet. It begins with a story. Before defining your next bold move, gather your people around a campfire—not a literal fire (though that helps), but a space of intentional dialogue where people can share pivotal moments, hopes, fears, and what really matters. 

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[Images: Svitlana/Adobe Stock; Tartila/Adobe Stock]

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