strategy – Live Laugh Love Do

Strategy, decoded: what It really is (and how to master it)

admin — Sun, 19 Oct 2025 17:49:11 +0000

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“You need to think more strategically; you need to be more strategic!”

It’s one of the most common, but least helpful, pieces of feedback professionals receive.

It sounds smart, it sounds wise, it also sounds important. But ask people what it actually means, including those who are proffering this advice, and you’ll likely get many different answers.

I’ve spent more than two decades working with leaders, entrepreneurs, and teams around the world to help them become more strategic in how they think, act and make decisions. Along the way, I’ve seen the same frustration crop up over and over again: people know strategy matters but don’t know how to “do” it.

The good news?

Strategy—and being strategic—isn’t a mysterious skill reserved for those sitting around the boardroom or graduating from business school. It’s a learnable set of practices that anyone can develop and apply to have more impact, both in their work and in their lives more broadly.

Strategy isn’t a document—it’s a mindset

Many picture strategy as a dense presentation or abstract five-year plan. At its core, though, strategy is about making meaningful choices. It requires zooming out to see different perspectives, managing complexity and uncertainty, deciding what matters most, and aligning actions accordingly.

Strategy is both a skill and a mindset—a lens and a habit. It’s a way of scanning your environment with curiosity, noticing what you see—and don’t see—and choosing where to focus limited time, energy, and resources.

Three myths of strategy

Myth 1: Strategy is for senior leaders only

Many scaling the career ladder will put off learning about strategy until they’re at the top. By then, it’s often too late. You will get passed up on that promotion or job offer, or you will quickly come unstuck when tasked with “developing the strategy for market X and service Y.” The earlier you develop your strategic muscles, the more choices you’ll have, the better the decisions you’ll make and greater impact you’ll have.

Myth 2: Strategy requires a genius IQ

Many of the most strategically effective people I’ve worked with aren’t the most qualified, or necessarily the most academically accomplished. Instead, they’re curious, they listen deeply, and they are genuinely collaborative. They spot opportunities and connect dots others don’t see. Rather than IQ points, strategy is about awareness, asking questions to foster more informed responses, connecting intentions to outcomes, making meaningful choices—and practice.

Myth 3: Strategy is about predicting the future

It’s tempting to think that great strategy is about making accurate predictions and perfect forecasts. In reality, it’s about navigating uncertainty. It’s learning how to make robust decisions and committing to action even when the path ahead is foggy—or worse.

So what does being strategic actually look like?

Here’s what I’ve learned from thousands of conversations across my career: being strategic is about three intertwined disciplines and their related habits: awareness, curiosity, and intentionality.

Awareness: Understand your context. Who are the stakeholders? What’s changing, and how quickly? Where are the hidden pressures and opportunities?
Curiosity: Don’t just accept the first answer or the obvious explanation. Probe. Challenge. Listen carefully. Invite feedback. Connect ideas across boundaries.
Intentionality: Make clear, meaningful choices. Set priorities. Decide not only what to do but also what not to do—and commit.

These habits don’t just apply to leadership roles. They apply to your own career decisions, your relationships, and even your personal goals.

Why being strategic matters for your well-being

There’s another reason to master strategy: it reduces overwhelm. In a world of endless notifications, shifting priorities, and constant change, it’s easy to stay in a near constant reactive mode. Being strategic gives you back a sense of agency.

When you think strategically, you stop confusing activity with impact. You say no more often. You’re comfortable with ambiguity, and you’re OK not having all the answers. This isn’t just good for business, it’s good for your health and well-being.

How to start being more strategic today

Here are three simple things you can do this week to build your strategic muscle:

Zoom out before you zoom in. Before your next meeting or decision, take five minutes to sketch the bigger picture: What’s really at stake? Who wins and who loses? What are the potential consequences? What’s the longer-term impact?

Ask better questions. Instead of “What should we do?” try reframing the situation:

“What problem are we really trying to solve?”

“What would success look like in 12 months—and how would we measure it?”

“What assumptions are we making, and what if they’re wrong?”

“What if we do nothing?”

Block thinking time. Schedule a recurring appointment with yourself, even just 20–30 minutes, to reflect, scan for patterns, and where necessary, reprioritize. Treat it like an immovable meeting with your future self.

These small shifts compound. Over time, you’ll notice you’re less reactive, clearer and more confident, and better able to influence outcomes. People will start to seek your perspective not just on the task at hand but on the more strategic, longer-term issues and opportunities.

Strategy decoded—for everyone

Strategy, decoded, is simply this: the skill of making better choices under uncertainty—choices that align with your goals, your values (and those of your team and organization), and the impact you want to have. It’s a set of skills and mindsets anyone can learn and develop, at any stage of their career. And once you start practicing it, you’ll see the benefits everywhere—at work, at home, and in your own sense of clarity, control, and confidence.

My invitation to you is simple: treat “being strategic” as a daily practice, not a distant aspiration or a skill reserved for other people. Start with self-awareness, curiosity, and intentionality.

Because strategy isn’t a secret. It’s a way of showing up in the world—and it’s available to you today.

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Big Brother Spoilers: Vince Weighs Tie-Breaker & Ava Could be Evicted

admin — Thu, 28 Aug 2025 09:23:57 +0000

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Big Brother fans, get ready for what could be the messiest eviction yet! A potential vote twist brewing in the house might put HOH Vince Panaro in the worst possible position at Thursday’s live eviction. Meanwhile, Ava Pearl‘s brilliant strategy of excessive napping and being adorable might not save her this week. Let’s dive into all the drama, lies, and vote counting chaos!

Kelley’s Lies Reach New Heights on BB27

Kelley Jorgensen continues her never-ending fib-fest. And this time she’s spinning tales about hammock-gate to Vince in the HOH room. She was talking about slop recipes with Mickey Lee, who mentioned they were all Rachel Reilly‘s creations.

But in Kelley’s retelling to Vince, she claimed Rachel laid her hand on her shoulder and declared it was “the Rachel cookbook, not the Season 27 cookbook.” The lies this woman tells are so detail-rich and delusional, it’s honestly diabolical at this point.

Everyone lies in Big Brother, but Kelley’s turned it into her personal cottage industry. She’s basically become Cruella de Vil combined with SNL’s compulsive liar character, writing her own victim edit while hoping CBS will air it instead of showing her true colors on the live feeds.

Big Brother Spoilers: Keanu’s Redemption Tour Continues

Keanu Soto is fully committed to his mission of getting back in Rachel’s good graces. He told cameras that seeing how emotional Rachel got over his betrayal made him realize she was never playing him. The man’s trying everything – he’s even cleaning bathrooms while she watches!

This whole situation screams “Brokeback Mountain” energy because Keanu is definitely in his “I just can’t quit you” phase while Rachel’s completely over him. He’s gonna have to come crawling if he wants forgiveness. And honestly, her husband Brendon would never do her like this.

The concerning part? Rachel seems to be softening, which has fans really upset that she’s getting misted by Keanu again. She even gave him back Jimmy Heagerty‘s hoodie that she’d loaned him and then snatched back – a definite sign that Keanu’s worming his way closer.

Big Brother 27: Houseguests’ Hot Takes on Rylie

In a bizarre twist, Rachel and Mickey were gushing about how Rylie Jeffries was such a gentleman and true man of God. Mickey even said women would be beating down his door after Big Brother 27. Someone on social media clapped back with “yeah, to get child support” – absolutely savage!

Cliffton “Will” Williams had a much more realistic read on the situation, calling it infatuation and saying he didn’t see anything real there. While Mickey and Rachel gushed about Rylie, Will gave his signature “I can’t believe the nonsense I’m hearing right now” face.

Ashley’s History Lessons and Elle Woods Energy on Big Brother

Ashley Hollis was acting like Will lived through the Spanish flu in 1902, the polio outbreak, and the Great Depression. Rachel had to correct her on dates and timelines, and Ashley giggled saying “history is so not my suit.”

A lot of people think Ashley’s simple, but this feels like her Elle Woods “Legally Blonde” character that she mentioned doing during a recent cam talk. The strategy might be working better than people realize.

Big Brother: TMI Bathroom Stories Nobody Asked For

Here’s something that’ll make you cringe: Keanu destroyed the HOH bathroom the other night and came out to tell Vince all the graphic details about what the pizza, mac and cheese, and hot dogs did to his digestive system. Then he casually mentioned he forgot to wash his hands.

Seriously, do guys really do this? Because women definitely don’t come out of bathrooms announcing their business to friends. It’s absolutely disgusting behavior that makes the hygiene situation even worse.

Big Brother Spoilers: Vince Panaro – Keanu Soto

Big Booty Games and Etsy Witch Wars on BB27

Rachel taught the newbies how to play “Big Booty” – the table clapping and snapping memory game from her BB13 days. It’s cute seeing the veterans share classic Big Brother traditions with the new players.

Meanwhile, BB alum Kat Dunn (the “conspiring bitches” queen) tweeted that she hired an Etsy witch to ensure Katherine Woodman gets evicted this week, just so Kat remains the superior BB Katherine. Apparently Etsy witches are seeing a major income boost from BB27 fans and alumni!

The best tweet of the day was a response to Morgan Pope explaining why she fell off the wall during the comp, claiming back problems. Someone clapped back that “Vinny won it and doesn’t have a spine.” Absolutely brutal and hilarious.

Big Brother Spoilers: Where the Votes Currently Stand

Now for the important stuff – the vote count has shifted dramatically since the veto meeting where Mickey saved herself and Vince renominated Katherine instead of taking a shot at Rachel.

Going into Thursday’s live BB Blockbuster and eviction, here’s the messy situation: Even though nobody wants Kelley in jury and she’s largely disliked by the houseguests, she actually has a chance at staying.

Kelley’s convinced Vince to break any tie in her favor regardless of who she’s sitting next to. Insanely, Vince would also break a tie in Katherine’s favor if it’s her versus Ava, which is criminally stupid since Katherine is definitely coming for him.

Rachel wants Kelley gone, which makes total sense, and won’t vote for her unless something major shifts before Thursday. Katherine guilt-tripped Rachel about the showmance situation and apparently secured her vote, even over Ava.

Morgan Pope thinks keeping Kelley benefits her personal game since Kelley won’t nominate her, and she’s right. But Kelley’s gunning for Morgan’s allies, making her a loose cannon.

Ashley and Rachel have both noticed Morgan leaning toward keeping Kelley, while Lauren Domingue just wants to be on the right side of the vote. Keanu plans to vote out Ava if she stays on the block because he thinks she’ll target Vince as HOH.

Mickey, Will, and Ashley all want Kelley gone, which is smart since she plans to nominate Mickey and Ashley while leaving Will alone. They also plan to keep Ava over Katherine and let Katherine know that Keanu and Morgan voted against her to keep suspicion off themselves.

BB27: The Tie-Breaking Nightmare

Morgan’s obsession with spending time with Vince is cracking her alliance, and this really could end in a tie that gets thrown to HOH Vince – which he’d absolutely hate. It would be the first tiebreaker this season, and they’re usually reserved for much later in the game.

Thursday’s eviction could be the messiest yet, with alliances fracturing and strategies backfiring. Will Ava’s adorable napping strategy save her, or will the vote twist leave everyone scrambling? We’ll find out soon enough!

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