The Power of a Dumb (Sounding) Strategy

“To care about people you have to care about people.” 

That quote is from Trillion Dollar Coach, a book about Bill Campbell, a former coach for the Google senior team, board member of Apple, and mentor to many in Silicon Valley. 

What I love about the quote is its simplicity and clarity. While the line is almost obvious and inane as written, it boils down what could be a Ph.D. thesis to a leadership principle that is both compelling and actionable. 

A few other similarly “simple” principles and strategy statements:

• Sam Walton’s framing of the early Wal-mart strategy: “Friend, we just got after it and stayed after it…” 

• President Obama’s foreign policy doctrine: “Don’t do stupid sh*t.”

• Lt. Gen. Walter Ulmer, in the U.S. Army Leadership Field Manual: “If it’s dumb, it’s not our policy.”

• Me, when talking to my 3-year-old, usually in response to the million reasons she gives for not being able to put on her doggone pajamas: “The first step in doing it, is doing it.” (On a good day, she’ll reply, “fiiiine, Daddy, I’ll focus and execute.”)

In all of those cases, there’s nuance behind the statement, but the power comes from synthesizing it to the most essential point. And in a leadership context, there’s surely a communication benefit from that clarity.

In my coaching practice, I’ve often seen leaders struggle when the opposite is true—when there’s too much complexity. In practice, that looks like team members not understanding what the most important priorities are. It looks like having a 10-point plan instead of a 1- or 2-point plan. And it looks like not being able to decide between the many competing demands on their time. 

What’s interesting, however, is that some of the most powerful solutions to those complex situations are often the simplest. Some examples of strategies my clients have created for themselves: 

• Just ask team members what they need from me.

• Rest up before making the decision.

• Pause a few seconds before responding.

• Say “no” if I can’t do it.

That’s not to say that the world is simple, or even easy. But I’d bet that if we boiled things down to the dumbest, simplest statements, adopted them as principles, and followed through, we’d set ourselves up to make more progress and have greater impact.

Challenge Questions

What’s the most simple thing you could do that would have a big impact?

What’s the 1-sentence version of your team’s strategy?