<aside> 💡 These four questions underpin business strategy — but most startups get them all wrong.

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If you ask CEOs about their business strategy, you might hear statements such as:

• ‘Our strategy is to help our customers do X.’
• ‘Our strategy is to grow 100% this year.’
• ‘Our strategy is to internationalise.’
• ‘Our strategy is to build the best product.’

There’s just one problem: none of these statements is actually a business strategy. They are missions, goals, tactics, and descriptive statements.

What exactly is a business strategy? What are the advantages of having one? And what does strategic thinking really mean?

May the Best Man . . . Lose?

It sounds plausible: if you want to win, you have to be the best.

Which team wins the championship? The best team, obviously. Which army wins the battle? The best army, of course.