

#416
Mentioned in 41 episodes
Good Strategy/Bad Strategy
The Difference and Why It Matters
Book • 2011
In *Good Strategy/Bad Strategy*, Richard Rumelt clarifies the distinction between effective and ineffective strategies.
He argues that a good strategy is a specific and coherent response to overcoming obstacles, harnessing power where it will have the greatest effect.
Rumelt debunks elements of 'bad strategy' such as equating goals, motivational slogans, and financial targets with actual strategy.
He introduces the 'kernel' of strategy, which includes a diagnosis of the challenge, a guiding policy, and coherent action.
The book uses diverse examples from business, nonprofit, and military contexts to illustrate these concepts and emphasizes the importance of analytical rigor and focused effort in strategy development.
He argues that a good strategy is a specific and coherent response to overcoming obstacles, harnessing power where it will have the greatest effect.
Rumelt debunks elements of 'bad strategy' such as equating goals, motivational slogans, and financial targets with actual strategy.
He introduces the 'kernel' of strategy, which includes a diagnosis of the challenge, a guiding policy, and coherent action.
The book uses diverse examples from business, nonprofit, and military contexts to illustrate these concepts and emphasizes the importance of analytical rigor and focused effort in strategy development.
Mentioned by



























Mentioned in 41 episodes
Recommended by 

for its clear insights on building effective product strategies.


Ben Mann

3,696 snips
Anthropic co-founder on quitting OpenAI, AGI predictions, $100M talent wars, 20% unemployment, and the nightmare scenarios keeping him up at night | Ben Mann
Mentioned by 

as one of the seminal books in modern strategy.


Lenny Rachitsky

1,080 snips
Good Strategy, Bad Strategy | Richard Rumelt
Mentioned by 

as an example of excellent materials on strategy.


Chandra Janakiraman

866 snips
An operator’s guide to product strategy | Chandra Janakiraman (CPO at VRChat, ex-Meta, Headspace, Zynga)
Mentioned by 

when discussing different perspectives on strategy and their relationship to 

's framework.


Lenny Rachitsky


Roger Martin

667 snips
5 essential questions to craft a winning strategy | Roger Martin (author, advisor, speaker)
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as an author who highlights what strategy is and isn't.

Jag Duggal

627 snips
Be fundamentally different, not incrementally better | Jag Duggal (Nubank, Facebook, Google, Quantcast)
Mentioned by 

as a good book on strategy.


Richard Koch

525 snips
#752: Terry Crews and Richard Koch
Mentioned by 

as a book with a great definition of strategy.


Will Larson

507 snips
The engineering mindset | Will Larson (Carta, Stripe, Uber, Calm, Digg)
Mentioned by 

as a good strategy book.


Richard Koch

432 snips
#466: Richard Koch on Mastering the 80/20 Principle, Achieving Unreasonable Success, and The Art of Gambling
Mentioned by 

as a well-written book on business strategy.


Packy McCormick

326 snips
Packy McCormick: How To Publish Your Best Ideas Online
Mentioned by 

in relation to ![undefined]()

's recommendation of "Good Strategy, Bad Strategy."


Lenny Rachitsky

Lane Shackleton

310 snips
What sets great teams apart | Lane Shackleton (CPO of Coda)
Recommended by 

as a book that she recommends most to other people.


Nicole Forsgren

262 snips
How to measure and improve developer productivity | Nicole Forsgren (Microsoft Research, GitHub, Google)
Mentioned by 

in the context of his reading habits while working on his turnaround strategy for Breather.


Packy McCormick

97 snips
Not Boring (with Packy McCormick)
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

when discussing the importance of understanding a company's situation.

Leah Darin

61 snips
91: Dave Kellogg - Organizational design: Signs of Health vs. Conflict
Mencionado por ![undefined]()

como un libro que ha regalado mucho.

Javier Recuenco

45 snips
El genio detrás del telón con Javier Recuenco
Recommended by ![undefined]()

for its practical approach to strategy, emphasizing achievable goals.

Kate Towsey

37 snips
46. Getting Strategic About Research (feat. Kate Towsey, author of Research that Scales)
Recommended by 

as a great book on how to craft a really good strategy.


Max Rhodes

35 snips
20VC: Faire's Max Rhodes on Three Steps To Hire the Best Candidates, Why Every Company Should Have a Strategy Doc and How To Do It & The Art of Referencing; How to Get the Most Out of Every Reference
Recommended by Javier González Recuenco as a must-read on strategy.

34 snips
#77 Javier G. Recuenco: reguetón, el Sr. Lobo y los corsés de ballena
Mentionné par ![undefined]()

comme un excellent livre sur la stratégie.

David Laroche

29 snips
Comment prendre les bonnes décisions ? Olivier Sibony x David Laroche
Mentioned by 

when discussing the element of surprise in a good strategy.


Benjamin Hardy

25 snips
Dr. Benjamin Hardy: Scale Your Business 10x Faster with This Proven Framework | Entrepreneurship | E361
Mentioned by ![undefined]()

as a relevant framework that grounds strategy in actions, focusing on diagnosis, themes, and coherent actions.

Rukmini Reddy

23 snips
Essential questions & leadership principles to navigate change, fear & uncertainty w/ Rukmini Reddy #214