From Failures to Change: After-Action Learning

As the year comes to a close, Rich Horwath reflects on lessons learned from working with dozens of organizations and thousands of leaders in 2025. He re-centers the true meaning of strategic: possessing insight that leads to advantage. Rich states that strategy begins with curiosity, an explorer’s mindset focused on learning, reflection, and deliberate choice.

Rich walks listeners through a practical year-in-review framework, balancing achievements with an honest assessment of what didn’t work. From identifying top learnings and priorities to establishing a rallying cry for the year ahead, the goal is clear: turn reflection into actionable insight.

The episode culminates with ten practical ways leaders can sharpen their strategic edge, from managing energy to maximize time to improving decision-making, meetings, and planning. The message is simple but powerful: new growth comes from new thinking, and strategy is a discipline that must be practiced.

“In the dictionary, strategic is defined as ‘of or relating to strategy,’ which is not really too helpful, so in my research, the way I’ve defined strategic is possessing insight that leads to advantage.”

“I define insight as a learning that leads to new value.”

“When we think about competition in the market, we want to think about how they are shaping the perception of value.”

“Research by McKinsey shows that the number one driver of revenue growth is the reallocation of resources throughout the year from underperforming areas to ones with greater performance.”

“Leadership can be defined as setting direction and serving others to achieve goals.”

“What does practice for you look like?”

The Winsight for this episode borrows inspiration from Dr. Seuss, reframed through a strategic lens. Most leaders don’t dislike strategy. They avoid it because it feels slow, abstract, and disconnected from the adrenaline of daily execution. Tactics feel productive and thinking feels optional.

But advantage is created by leaders who choose otherwise. While others stay trapped in reaction mode, checking phones, chasing urgency, and fighting fires, strategic leaders deliberately carve out time to think. They step back, question assumptions, and align resources toward what truly moves the business forward.

Strategic thinking isn’t about avoiding action. It’s about elevating it. When leaders schedule time to think, they stop reacting and start leading. That discipline, choosing insight over impulse, is what separates activity from progress.

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