Strategy – Luke McMeeken-Ruscoe

When Everyone Zigs, Zag: The Power of Unconventional Thinking

We often underestimate the power of rethinking our assumptions.

When facing a resource disadvantage, playing by the same rules is a losing game.

The most effective solutions often lie outside the box. When everyone zigs, consider zagging.

The most demoralizing work is work that feels pointless.

Just like neglecting our health leads to physical decline, neglecting strategic direction leads to organizational stagnation.

Clarity of purpose is essential for both.

In a world of perfection, being wrong is a moral failure.

Luckily, we don’t live in a perfect world yet acknowledging mistakes is not encouraged.

Learning doesn’t happen without mistakes, don’t fear them.

Being loud and a good speaker doesn’t make a person right.

Being quiet and unsure of how to express themselves doesn’t make a person wrong.

Beware the flash with no bang.

Leadership is not about telling people what to do but to point people in a direction of where they are going.

Letting go is scary and you will get better results when you allow people to be who they are while moving towards a common goal.

Tradition tells you what we have valued, not what is valuable.

Other peoples decisions shouldn’t be ignored, but they should be understood.

Something being old doesn’t make it good. Something being different doesn’t mean it’s bad, it’s the ability to discern value that is important.

What if we didn’t define people by what we think they can’t do?

Everything in this world was never done at some point. Someone had to be crazy enough to attempt it.

Don’t get trapped in the frameworks of outdated ideas.

In a time of constant motion, taking a moment to pause and think can be judged as indulgent.

Taking time to think should be a prerequisite to leadership, not a challenge to it.

Do the right thing is better than doing more things.

We see everyone as competition but in life we are running our own race.

If we trip and fall, we feel like everyone is running away from us.

Get up.

Falling isn’t failing, staying down is.

The trap is feeling like doing something is getting you somewhere.

Thoughtful beginnings create beneficial outcomes.

We want to start with curiosity, not certainty.