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<v Speaker 1>Helping leaders motivate their people to a higher level of

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<v Speaker 1>performance through strong human relations, team building and GOLA GV.

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<v Speaker 1>This is the seven Minute Leadership Podcast with your host

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<v Speaker 1>Paul Fellavoldo.

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<v Speaker 2>Hello everyone, and welcome to the Seven Minute Leadership Podcast.

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<v Speaker 2>It's episode five ninety eight. Today we're talking about strategy,

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<v Speaker 2>not the bloated kind, not the slide deck, not the

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<v Speaker 2>off site retreat version that feels good in the moment

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<v Speaker 2>and disappears by Monday morning. I'm talking about strategy in

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<v Speaker 2>one sentence. If you can't explain your strategy in one

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<v Speaker 2>clear sentence, you don't have a strategy. You have noise.

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<v Speaker 2>Most organizations are not short on effort, they are short

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<v Speaker 2>on clarity. People are working hard, saying late, answering emails,

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<v Speaker 2>sitting in meetings, and still moving in different directions. That's

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<v Speaker 2>not a motivation problem. That's a leadership problem. Here is

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<v Speaker 2>the test. If I stopped one of your employees in

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<v Speaker 2>the hallway, in the truck, in the breakroom, or on

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<v Speaker 2>a zoom call and asked what is your organization trying

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<v Speaker 2>to do right now? Would I get the same answer

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<v Speaker 2>from everyone? If the answers are different, your strategy is broken.

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<v Speaker 2>Strategy is not what leadership says in the boardroom. Strategy

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<v Speaker 2>is what people repeat when leadership is not in the room.

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<v Speaker 2>One sentence strategy forces discipline, It forces decisions. It forces

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<v Speaker 2>leaders to choose what matters and what does not. It

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<v Speaker 2>removes wiggle room and excuses. And I've seen organizations with

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<v Speaker 2>binders full of strategic plans fail miserably. I've also seen

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<v Speaker 2>small t with one clear sentence outperform everyone around them.

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<v Speaker 2>Why Because clarity creates alignment, and alignment creates momentum. And

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<v Speaker 2>here's where leaders get uncomfortable. One sentence strategy exposes indecision.

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<v Speaker 2>It exposes fear of commitment. It exposes leaders who want

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<v Speaker 2>to keep all options open so they do not upset anyone.

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<v Speaker 2>Leadership is not about keeping everyone comfortable. Leadership is about

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<v Speaker 2>moving people in the same direction on purpose. Let me

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<v Speaker 2>give you an example. A weak's strategy sounds like this,

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<v Speaker 2>we aim to be innovative, customer focused, and operationally excellent.

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<v Speaker 2>That sentence says nothing. It gives people permission to interpret

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<v Speaker 2>it however they want. It is corporate bs dressed up

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<v Speaker 2>as leadership. A strong one sentence strategy sounds like this.

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<v Speaker 2>Over the next twelve months, we're going to reduce customer

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<v Speaker 2>wait times by fifty percent, even if it means saying

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<v Speaker 2>no to new projects. Now people know what matters. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>trade offs are clear. Now, decisions get easier. Good strategy

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<v Speaker 2>is subtraction. It is choosing what not to do when

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<v Speaker 2>everything is a priority. Nothing is. Another mistake leaders make

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<v Speaker 2>is confusing values with strategy. Values guide, behavior, strategy guide's action.

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<v Speaker 2>They work together, but they are not the same thing. Integrity, respect, accountability,

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<v Speaker 2>Those are all values. They tell people how to act.

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<v Speaker 2>Strategy tells people where to aim. Without strategy, values float

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<v Speaker 2>without values, strategy rots. The one sentence strategy becomes the filter.

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<v Speaker 2>When a new idea shows up, you do not debate

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<v Speaker 2>it emotionally. You run it through the sentence. Does this

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<v Speaker 2>help us accomplish what we said we are focused on

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<v Speaker 2>right now? If yes, proceed, If no, then park it.

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<v Speaker 2>That sentence protects your people from overload, It protects your

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<v Speaker 2>leaders from distraction, It protects your organization from drifting. And

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<v Speaker 2>this is where red key leadership shows up. Writing a

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<v Speaker 2>one sentence strategy is a red key moment. It requires ownership,

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<v Speaker 2>It requires saying no, It requires standing behind a decision

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<v Speaker 2>long enough to see it through. Most leaders avoid this

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<v Speaker 2>because it feels risky. What if the sentence is wrong?

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<v Speaker 2>What if conditions change? And here's the reality. A clear

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<v Speaker 2>direction that gets adjusted beats vague direction that never moves.

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<v Speaker 2>You can correct course when you're moving. You cannot steer

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<v Speaker 2>something that is sitting still. I want you to think

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<v Speaker 2>about your team right now. Are they tired, frustrated, or

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<v Speaker 2>burned out. There's a good chance it is not because

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<v Speaker 2>they're lazy or unmotivated. It's because they're being pulled in

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<v Speaker 2>too many directions without a clear aiming point. People want

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<v Speaker 2>to win. They just need to know what winning looks like.

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<v Speaker 2>Your one sentence strategy defines the win. Here's a simple exercise.

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<v Speaker 2>Take a blank piece of paper, write one sentence that

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<v Speaker 2>answers this question. Over the next six to twelve months,

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<v Speaker 2>what are we intentionally focused on achieving even if it

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<v Speaker 2>means deprioritizing other good things. If you need five sentences,

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<v Speaker 2>you're not done. If you need qualifiers and footnotes, you

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<v Speaker 2>are not done. Simple does not mean easy. Simple means clear.

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<v Speaker 2>Once you have it, share it, repeat it, put it

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<v Speaker 2>on walls, put it in meetings, put it in onboarding.

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<v Speaker 2>Say it until people can finish the sentence without you.

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<v Speaker 2>That is when strategy stops being a document and starts

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<v Speaker 2>being a direction. So leadership is not about saying more.

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<v Speaker 2>It is about making fewer things unmistakably clear. One sentence

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<v Speaker 2>can align a team, protect their time, and restore lost momentum.

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<v Speaker 2>If you want less chaos and more progress, stop adding

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<v Speaker 2>and start choosing. Write the sentence, own it, and lead

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<v Speaker 2>with it. This has been the seven minute Leadership Podcast

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<v Speaker 2>and I thank you for listening.

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<v Speaker 1>For more, Paul Fell of Alito Podcasts, visit paulfellowalito dot

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<v Speaker 1>com