The Art Of Strategy

Writen by Ivan Begic - Founder & CEO of Business-Narrative

What is strategy? At its core, strategy is simply the process of moving from where you are today to where you want to be in the most intelligent, efficient, and safest way.

For reasons I can’t explain, I was always obsessed with history as a whole but particularly with the rise and fall of power structures and the influence of military warfare on the outcomes of such. I have spent countless hours trying to understand the thinking of those we remember today as the greatest strategists that had ever lived, and learn from their successes and failures. As I’ve progressed with the comprehension of our history I found particular interest in the business literature which got me to study Business in England and later work as the digital growth guy for several different companies over the years after which I founded my personal consultancy (www.ivanbegic.com) and the Business-Narrative (www.business-narrative.com). Beyond advisory and working with other companies I have also founded Intellectual-X, Inc. with the aim to make an impact in how the masses connect through technology with the first product focused on online dating expected to hit the market in 2026.

It Begins With The Vision

The two shared commonalities between all of the largest companies in the world today is the clear founding vision they aimed to achieve. From Apple, Microsoft, Tesla, Facebook, Amazon, Nvidia, Google. All of the companies who shaped and continue shaping the narrative as we know it had a very simple founding vision, and the 2nd commonality between them is that they were heavily founder led.

The simple founding vision that everyone could understand and want to be a part of. Yet older, bigger companies at the time most of us have never heard about were paying heavy fees to the likes of McKinsey, Deloitte and other big consulting companies to help them craft their growth strategy and yet none of these companies despite their size had the growth experience like the companies we mentioned earlier.
Not only is it important for the company to have a shared narrative, a unifying vision but it is also crucial to have a leader who is completely obsessed with making that vision happen. From my perspective the future of the company is mostly determined by the unique set of talents the founder has, his/her’s raw intelligence and an absolute obsession with making that vision come to a reality in any way possible.

Nothing can stop a strong Why from succeeding and that is the core of strategy that works across all levels, not only if you want to change how things are done in a certain industry but it’s the same if you just want to open a small business or achieve something others can’t see happening.

To conclude, If the point of the strategy is to get where you want to be, but there isn’t an inspiring destination and a journey to get there, no strategy will ever work despite the money, experience, intelligence or any other factor because you can only reach the moon by aiming for the stars.

Crafting a Business Narrative Framework

To turn the vision into reality there needs to be a structured, guiding compass that helps everyone in the organisation to act with confidence and make decisions that best align with the interest of the company. This not only speeds up decision making and improves efficiency but it also makes organisations much more enjoyable to work in. The positive company culture will not only help keep and attract the best talent but it will also fuel growth mindset and innovative thinking across the entire organisation.

Beyond the coherent internal narrative operating from a place of higher purpose communicates company values to the market and it builds a deeper sense of connection with the customers which over time makes the business into a Brand.

Most businesses have some sort of a plan for the next few months, and a number of different goals for the next year or possibly two, but nothing beyond that. Most often than not those plans are based around reaching a certain threshold. They are not inspiring by any means and yet those at the top expect commitment, and hard work out of everyone within the organisation which causes stress and it kills productivity. Working for this type of company is modern slavery, a completely soul crushing experience that most can’t get out of. Even if the numbers are achieved the same cycle simply keeps repeating itself, which promotes changes in leadership and leads absolutely nowhere.

This is purely down to the management structure and the absence of the founder figure.
Rented leadership without any significant skin in the game primarily thinks about maximising their own positioning and compensation. The limitations to see beyond the limitations of their individual perception comes from an unconscious desire to not be there in the first place. I have experienced this a million times when senior management had complained to me about the frustrations of being in the position in which they are in while at the same time demanding results from their teams. The lack of a founder who deeply cares about what is the best for the company and not just himself would prevent this but instead we have entire companies run by the people who simply don't care. Their aim is to maximise the metrics in order to get their rewards which makes their sacrifice worthwhile but is ultimately horrible for the company and its future.

The Intelligent Strategy

Once the Business Narrative is in place the whole strategy becomes much simpler. A good strategy doesn’t have to predict every possible outcome or answer every question that might arise. Instead, it should identify the choices, priorities, and principles that will help the company move toward its vision. From that strategy, the plan emerges. The plan should be a 12 month to-do list broken down in quarters with the clear kpy’s and who does what, when and all the tasks should have its priority. There are great tools for that, I won’t recommend any but there are many great options.

Having all of this in place is crucial but there is still a matter of making all of this into a reality, and nothing maximises the chances better than understanding and intelligently using the power of Leverage & Positioning
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Positioning for Leverage

When I think of positioning, and leverage the first thing that comes to my mind is Hannibal Barca and the battles of Lake Trasimene and Cannae.

The key components of any strategy is the ability to understand strengths & weaknesses of yourself, your opposition and the arena that you are fighting in. Choosing how to maximise your strengths, and minimise the weaknesses for the maximum result is a complex equation to solve but that is what makes the game of strategy so exciting and rewarding because despite the complexity it brings it’s also incredibly intellectually rewarding to see a way to victory and then making it happen.

Having a Business Narrative Framework is the best positioning and the ultimate leverage overall but the board of many different areas of the business have to be positioned for the maximum impact with the aim of applying leverage effectively while consistently creating a new leverage to keep fueling the fire.

In today's world the most important area for maximising positioning and leverage is digital. Those who can master what consumers want through design, marketing, content, advertising are those who are positioned for the highest amount of impact.

Final Words

For leaders, the challenge of preserving their company's existence and expanding its influence will only get harder as the barrier for entry across many industries is becoming lower and lower, and the age of seeing the real benefits of AI hasn’t even began, therefore all only leader can really do is set a good unifying vision in place that promotes positivity and innovation. Navigating this complexity is extremely challenging and that is the exact reason why I began this business in the first place. If this resonates, and you are interested in having a consultation about how can I help your organisation please reach out by filling out a contact form on the website or by contacting me on the ivan@business-narrative.com