Fast Company Daily Revisiting my definition of strategy
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Oct 1, 2025 
Roger Martin, a renowned management thinker and author known for his expertise in strategy, revises his long-standing definition of strategy during this insightful discussion. He emphasizes the necessity of clear definitions to advance fields like social entrepreneurship. Martin critiques existing strategy definitions for their inadequacy and introduces his refined conception, focusing on core elements such as integrated choices and compelling customer actions. He also discusses the importance of testing strategic choices while omitting certain common elements for clarity.
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Defining Social Entrepreneurship
- Roger Martin recounts joining the Skoll Foundation board and finding the term 'social entrepreneur' fuzzily defined.
- He and Sally Osberg created a clear definition that became highly downloaded and cited to guide the field.
Strategy Suffers From Fuzzy Definitions
- Strategy lacks consensus and too often becomes a mere list of initiatives or a vague aspiration.
- Those fuzzy definitions make productive discussion and progress in strategy difficult.
Origin Of His Strategy Definition
- Roger Martin explains he formulated an original definition of strategy in the mid-1990s and used it for 25 years.
- He noticed others repeating his wording without attribution, which prompted him to update and publish a revised definition.